Adventures Of The Youngest Salvatore
by Ghostwriter
Summary: Casey and her older brothers Stefan and Damon were turned by Katherine in 1864. However, her greatest challenge doesn't come until 2005.
1. 1864 Part 1

ADVENTURES OF THE YOUNGEST SALVATORE

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Just an idea of what if Casey was a Salvatore. I'm toning Katherine down just a smidge. She's still wild, but not as destructive as in the books or t.v. series. The first few chapters take place in 1864, but the rest will take place in the LWD world up to and through "Futuritis". Vampire Diaries belongs to LJ Smith and the CW. Ages: Damon 24, Stefan 17, Cassandra "Casey" 16. Some things in the 1864 timeline are sped up. At this point, Damon and Stefan know Katherine, Pearl, and Anna are vampires, though Casey doesn't.

MYSTIC FALLS, VIRGINIA 1864

There was something different about Katherine Pierce. Cassandra Salvatore could feel it, but she didn't know what exactly. But she could tell that her older brothers Damon and Stefan were absolutely enamored with her…and that they seemed to know her secret. She watched as the three talked and laughed and blew out a breath. She really hoped Katherine wouldn't hurt her brothers. She didn't want to see them come to blows. Presently, she heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Emily Bennett.

"Hello, Emily," Cassandra greeted.

"Hello, Miss Cassandra," Emily acknowledged. Cassandra smiled. 'Miss Cassandra' sounded **much** better than 'Miss Salvatore'. The servant gazed at the trio. "I wish she'd make up her mind," she grumbled.

"Tell me Emily, what is Katherine's feelings regarding my brothers?" Cassandra wondered.

"She cares for them both very deeply, but as of right now, she's not sure who she cares for more," Emily responded. As if Katherine had heard them, she turned around.

"Emily, come here!" she called as the brothers went inside.

"Excuse me, Miss Cassandra," the other girl said and hurried towards her friend.

"Yes, what is it, Miss Pierce?" she asked.

"**Katherine**," the woman emphasized. Then, "I'm going to tell the young Mr. Salvatore my decision…tonight."

"Which one, Miss?" Emily wondered.

"Both." Katherine sighed at the look. "I know, I know. I've been flitting about as if I can't make up my mind, but it's been hard. They both have qualities that make them…irresistible."

"You have Miss Cassandra worried about your intentions towards her brothers." Katherine frowned.

"Well, that won't do." Cassandra Salvatore had become like the sister she had always wanted, and the last thing she desired was to get into her bad graces. "Well then, like I said, I'll tell them tonight. I'll just have to remember to tread carefully and consider my options…hopefully without hurting someone too much." Emily nodded. That sounded like a wise course of action. Miss Katherine could be a bit wild at times considering that she was a vampire, but when she was among people she considered friends or family, she was never intentionally malicious. Just then, Pearl and her daughter Anna came up to them.

"Katherine, we have a problem," she stated. Katherine looked at the perfume bottle.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Try this," the woman stated. Katherine poured the contents onto her hand and then winced.

"Vervain," she realized.

"Yes. People know we're here and they're getting crafty about finding us. We have to leave," Pearl hissed.

"Mother, no!" Anna exclaimed, causing Cassandra to turn towards them. _What's going on?_ she wondered. Why did they all look upset?

"But I like it here, and Anna's made friends," Katherine pointed out.

"I know, but I am **not** risking my daughter's safety," Pearl responded. Katherine nodded. Pearl was right of course. They couldn't risk Anna or their friends being harmed.

"Mother, don't you think you're overreacting?" Anna asked.

"No. Your mother's absolutely right. We can't risk getting caught," Katherine agreed. _Poor dear. She doesn't deserve to be uprooted so_, she thought to herself. "We'll all meet later tonight," she stated.

"Of course," Pearl agreed. Then, they parted ways.


	2. 1864 Part 2

Later that night, Stefan, Damon, Pearl, and Anna met in the Salvatore barn.

"What's going on, Katherine?" Damon wondered.

"Is everything all right?" Stefan added.

"No, everything's not all right," Pearl answered and told them what she had discovered.

"And that's why we're here: to figure out the best course of action," Katherine stated.

"How can you be so calm? They're getting closer to finding you," Damon pointed out. _I don't believe this._ _She could die and she's acting as if she's just out for a stroll_, he thought to himself.

"Contrary to what I may lead some of our species to believe, I don't consider humans to be dumb. The fact that they came up with this is proof of that," Katherine responded. Then, "Stefan, Damon, I need to talk to both of you alone." Hearing this, Pearl took Anna's arm and they walked out.

"Katherine, what is it?" Stefan asked. She sighed. _How can I say this without hurting him?_ she wondered.

"You both know how much I care for you," she began.

"Yes," they chorused.

"And I don't want to hurt either of you, but-" she continued.

"You need to choose one," Damon finished for her. She nodded.

"Stefan, I've loved spending time with you, but-" she began. He nodded. He had been expecting this. However, he wasn't bitter.

"Say no more. I've known for a while that you favored Damon," he interrupted.

"I know that this hurts…" she said.

"It's all right," he assured. And it was. "As long as I still have your friendship."

"You will **never** lose that." They smiled and Damon allowed himself to give Katherine a quick hug. Then, there was a blood-curdling scream.

"Cassandra!" they all rushed towards the sound ending up in the woods. When they found her, they were horrified to find her limp in Pearl's arms, the younger girl's dress tattered and bruises all over her body.

"What happened?" Stefan asked angrily. _Who hurt her?_ he wondered.

"Who did this to her?" Damon spat out with a slight growl. _Whoever it was, I'll kill them_, he thought.

"Tyrone Lockwood. I can smell him all over her," Pearl answered. "From how badly she's beaten, I'd say she fought him. I hate to be rude, but I don't think she'll make it," she continued.

"No," Stefan whispered. _We can't lose her. It would kill us_, he thought to himself.

"I can save her," Katherine volunteered. The brothers turned to her. "If I turn her, it'll save her," she explained.

"It could expose you," Pearl cautioned.

"It's Cassandra, Pearl," Katherine responded. Damon and Stefan looked at each momentarily before making a decision.

"Do it," they chorused. At Katherine's direction, Pearl gently placed Cassandra on the ground as Katherine sliced her wrist with a nail. Stefan and Damon watched memorized as the blood trickled out. Katherine put her wrist on Cassandra's mouth and Pearl stroked the girl's throat to make the blood go down easier. _Oh, please let this work_, Stefan prayed…though he wasn't sure who he was praying to. _Come on, Cassandra. Come back to us_, Damon encouraged. Cassandra moaned and then opened her eyes.

"I was dying," she said.

"Yes," Katherine admitted, slowly helping her up. Cassandra stared at the girl. She had been nearly dead after Tyrone's attack. There was no way she could have survived…unless…

"You're a vampire," she whispered. Katherine shared an anxious look with Pearl and the Salvatore brothers.

"Cassandra-" she began.

"Do **not** let Father find out," the young girl warned. _If he found out, he would kill her_, she worried. And she didn't want that to happen. Stefan and Damon would be devastated.

"I'd sooner die," Damon responded.

"And soon you shall my love," Katherine promised, causing Stefan to roll his eyes. Their attention turned back to Cassandra when she groaned and doubled up in pain.

"Cassandra!" Stefan and Damon went to steady her, but Katherine pushed them back.

"She's a newborn, she could accidentally hurt you," she cautioned.

"She needs to feed," Pearl realized. "I'll take her into the forest, where we'll be unnoticed."

"Thank you, Pearl." Stefan and Damon watched as Pearl lead their younger sister away.

"I'll have Emily make a ring with the day-walking spell for her as soon as possible," Katherine promised.

"When will you turn Damon?" Stefan wondered. Surprised, they turned to him. _He has changed his mind?_ Damon thought.

"Do you…no longer wish to be turned?" Katherine asked. _I didn't realize he was even having second thoughts. He must've kept it very well hidden_, she mused.

"You chose Damon," Stefan replied. _There is no further need for me now that Katherine's made her choice. I'll be sure to keep Father away from them though_, he thought. The vampire smiled.

"That doesn't mean I won't turn you as well if you so desire it," she assured.

"I had thought-" his voice trailed off.

"That I was only offering because I wasn't sure which of you I favored?" she finished in amusement.

"Yes," he answered guiltily.

"Stefan!" Damon exclaimed. Granted, he was no expert in these sorts of matters, but he was rather certain that you weren't supposed to **insult** the vampire who offered to turn you.

"No, it's quite all right, Damon," Katherine assured. Then, "I will still turn you if so desire it."

"I do."

"Meet Damon and me in my chambers in two hours."

"All right." Stefan nodded and walked away.

"And what will we be doing for the next two hours?" Katherine stared at him coyly.

"You're a smart boy. Figure it out." He laughed and allowed her to lead him to her room.


	3. 1864 Part 3

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel (Chs 1-2): Thanks, I'm glad you like it. Yeah, I know, but I was just going with the vibe I had sensed in their chemistry. Thanks. Guess you'll have to read on and see. Again, read on and see. Oh, my gosh! I never realized that, lol. Guess you'll have to read to find out. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Twilight Gleek: Thanks. I'm glad you like it. Here's more.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

PrincessPhoenixMoon: Okay.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to LJ Smith and the CW. I only own the plot.

Two hours later, Katherine and Damon laughed together as they stayed hidden underneath the sheets.

"Are you both absolutely sure?" she checked.

"Yes. We'll drink and then you kill us," he answered. Finally, they halted their actions and pulled the sheets down.

"Stefan, you can come in now," Damon called.

"Just keep yourselves decent," Stefan answered, and then walked in.

"Are you ready, Love?" she asked.

"Yes," he responded. She scraped her wrist and created a gash and then offered the wound to Damon and Stefan who drank eagerly. When he was done, Katherine grinned and placed her hands on Damon's neck.

"This…is going to hurt," she warned, and then snapped his neck. She grinned and went leaned over to kiss him. However, something whizzed in the air and hit her in the back. She gasped.

"Katherine?" Stefan asked.

"Vervain," she told him, and then collapsed.

"Get away from her, Son," a voice warned. Stefan scrambled backwards as Giuseppe came into view.

"Father?" he asked. _What has he done?_ he thought in horror.

"She's a vampire, Stefan. She compelled you into thinking you loved her. None of your feelings for her were real," Giuseppe told him. _It's okay. Stefan's safe at least. Now I just have to get him out of here so he doesn't see me stake Damon. He'd never understand. Her blood is still in his system_, he thought to himself.

"Father-"

"Go, Stefan! Now!"

"No." What they didn't know was that outside was utter chaos.

"This is not good," Emily commented quietly.

"They've found us," Anna gasped.

"Where are Katherine and my brothers?" Cassandra wondered, watching the scene.

"I don't know," Pearl answered, straining to hear through the commotion. _Okay, just focus on Katherine and the Salvatores. Ignore everyone else_, she coached.

"We have to find them," Cassandra insisted.

"I hear them. Come with me," Pearl instructed. Cassandra and Anna did as they were bid, the newest vampire looking around the town anxiously. _I have to find them_, she thought to herself. Everything was going crazy.

"Where are they?" Cassandra asked again.

"Your house. I can smell them," Pearl responded. Before the older vampire could stop her, Cassandra rushed to the establishment. When she got there, she was horrified to see her father and Stefan standing over Damon and Katherine's bodies and arguing. _Oh, no. Did Katherine not get a chance to give him her blood?_ she wondered.

"Father, will you please listen to me?" Stefan implored.

"Damon!" Cassandra exclaimed, running to towards him. Her eyes fell to Katherine. "What have you done?" she gasped, seeing the dart.

"Cassandra, leave. This is no place for you," Giuseppe warned. Then, Damon groaned and their father tensed.

"Cassandra, Stefan, you must leave now!" he warned.

"Vervain? You shot her with vervain?" the girl asked in disbelief.

"Cassandra, you know?" Stefan asked, playing dumb.

"Cassandra, you don't understand-" Giuseppe started to say.

"**This** is how you repay someone who saves my life?" Cassandra interrupted. "She has done nothing to harm you," she finished as Stefan helped Damon to a sitting position. Cassandra began to pull the dart out of Katherine's back, only to have her father grab her arm.

"You're a sympathizer?" he asked angrily, pulling her away, causing Stefan to stare in shock at the rough treatment. Her cry of pain roused Damon, who flew at him.

"You will not touch her," he growled.

"Get away from us, you unholy beast!" Giuseppe snapped, pulling out a stake.

"Father, no!" Cassandra exclaimed as he thrust the weapon at her older brother. However, Damon was faster and merely destroyed the stake and then bit into Giuseppe. Cassandra let out a low cry of alarm. _I didn't want this to happen_, she thought. Stefan ran up to her and he quickly pulled the vervain dart from Katherine's body.

"We have to go…**now**!" Stefan warned, as he slung Katherine over his shoulder. With that, they all took off.

"Vampires! Over there!" someone shouted.

"Ben Lockwood," Cassandra declared angrily. _I really hate that man_, she thought. A shot rang out. Stefan froze and collapsed. Cassandra screamed as Damon grabbed her wrist and sped off. _NO! We can't leave them!_ Cassandra thought to herself.

"Stefan, Katherine," she said.

"We'll have to come back for them later," Damon told her.

"No,' she protested as he continued to drag her away. "Damon…" Her voice trailed off as he pulled her behind a tree.

"Don't worry. We won't lose them," he assured. They watched as the townspeople gathered up the vampires.

"How is this happening?" Cassandra wondered.

"There's been talk in town of a device that can point out vampires," Damon responded.

"What?" Cassandra gasped and he shushed her.

"Come on. Let's meet Pearl and Anna and then we'll come back for Stefan and Katherine," Damon whispered.

"Right," Cassandra agreed. Then, they took off. While this was going on, Katherine struggled against the guard's hold.

"Don't do this…please" she panted. _Oh, I can't wait until the Vervain is out of my system_, she thought to herself. She just needed a few more minutes and for and the guard to be alone.

"Quiet, you foul creature," Ben Lockwood snapped, backhanding her.

"**I**'**m** the foul creature?" Katherine repeated. "Your boy is the one who attacked Cassandra Salvatore," she spat out.

"Quiet!" the man yelled, hitting her again. Katherine groaned, acting as she was in pain. However, that's all it was: an act. Katherine watched as other vampires were brought in. Thankfully, Pearl and Anna were not among them. _Oh, good. They got away_, Katherine thought to herself. She glared at them balefully until only one guard was left. He, however, was staring at the floor.

"May I talk with you?" she asked.

"I...guess. Just don't try any of your vampire tricks on me," he warned, keeping his eyes down.

"I can't," she lied.

"Right. Like I'm going to believe anything you say," he scoffed.

"No. Truly, I-" Katherine moaned, and fell to the ground. The guard looked at her. _She actually believes that I'll fall for this?_ he wondered. She was a vampire. An unholy creature and he was a God-fearing man who would not be swayed by tricks of the enemy. The woman remained motionless and the man could feel his natural upbringing creeping up. What if she truly was injured? Though a vampire, she was still a lady…right? He bent down.

"Miss-" he gasped as her eyes opened. Unable to help himself, he stared into the dark orbs.

"I am not a vampire. You will let me go," she told him. He helped her up.

"I'm so sorry, Miss. I don't know how I could've made such a mistake," he apologized, and quickly let her out.

"Thank you," she responded demurely. Then, she grabbed his neck and squeezed instantly, crushing the bones. She flew through the town, looking for the others. She had to gather up Pearl, Anna, Emily, Damon, Stefan, and Cassandra, and lead them out of here.

"Miss Katherine!" a voice hissed. Katherine followed her friend's voice to find Pearl and Anna with her.

"Where are the Salvatores?" she asked urgently.

"I found them by the Gilbert place. They are waiting by a carriage," Emily answered. They hurried off.

"Cassandra!" Damon and Stefan both wrapped the girl in a hug.

"Thank goodness you're safe," they said.

"Have they fed?" Katherine checked.

"Yes, Katherine. They're both satiated," Pearl assured. They all began to get in.

"Not so fast, vampires," a voice told them.

"Anna, get in the carriage," Pearl commanded and Anna did so, being followed by Emily.

"Tyrone," Damon growled. He stepped forward, only to be stopped by Cassandra.

"It's okay, Damon. I can take care of this," she told him. Tyrone's eyes widened.

"Impossible. I…" His voice died away. Before he could attract any attention, Cassandra lunged at him, sinking her teeth into his throat. Her brothers stared in shock and even Katherine grimaced at the violence. Tyrone let out a small gurgle, and then fell to the ground, dead. Stefan and Damon helped Cassandra and then Katherine into the carriage. At Katherine's command, the carriage took off.

"Where we will go?"

"I don't know." The small group stared at each other as the carriage continued out of Mystic Falls.


	4. The Room Part 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thanks. I figured he'd be the one to attack. Good, that's what it was supposed to feel like. Here you go. (That's cool. They've got posters now?)

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to LJ Smith and the CW. I only own the plot. Now that it's more modern, Cassandra will be Casey in the narration. I will not be watching any of the eps that I'm rewriting to avoid following them verbatim. I'm not sure how many chapters I'll dedicate for an episode, so just bear with me.

LONDON, ONTARIO 2005

It was late when the car finally reached its destination. Casey stared at the house as they pulled up. _It's…quaint_, she thought. She had definitely seen better architectural structures though. However, beggars couldn't be choosers. Nora was doing her and her brothers a **huge** favor by taking her in.

"Casey, we're here," Nora MacDonald stated needlessly.

"Nora, are you sure this is okay? I mean, you're under no obligation to keep me under your wing," Casey told her, fiddling with the ring on her finger. Once they had been somewhere safe, Katherine had produced three rings that she had somehow managed to procure from the Salvatore estate and had Emily cast a spell on them so that Casey and her brothers could walk in the sun and not attract attention.

"Casey, I was thrilled when Zack called and asked for my help," Nora reassured. _It's not often my older brother calls me for help_, she thought to herself. When she had learned that one of the original Salvatores had needed a safe haven, she had jumped at the chance. Though she had to admit, it **was** strange referring to the vampire as her daughter.

"Thank you," Casey said. With that, the three got out and moved their things into the house.

"Do you-uh-have everything you need?" Lizzie asked.

"Yeah, I've got my stash," Casey answered, gesturing towards a box. Lizzie began putting her belongs on her half of the room and then blinked when she realized that Casey was already done.

"I'm…still not used to that," Lizzie admitted.

"Sorry," Casey apologized. She helped the girl put her things away, and then they walked down the stairs.

"Casey, Lizzie. It's good to see you both again," George Venturi told her.

"You too, George," Casey grinned, her eyes darting across the room. In doing so, she saw two of her "stepsiblings" six-year old Marti and eleven-year old Edwin.

"Hey," Edwin greeted. She smiled at him softly and then turned her attention to Marti who was crawling around on all fours pretending to be a cat. _Imaginative girl_, she thought to herself.

"How do you like your room?" George asked. _It's a bit cramped_, Casey thought to herself.

"It's fine," she answered. Nora was doing her a favor and she wasn't about to make unnecessary waves. Nora looked at the older girl suspiciously, but said nothing.

"Where's Derek?" she asked instead.

"He must still be up in his room," he answered with a sigh. "Der-ek! Get down here!" he shouted. Casey heard the door open and moments later, he came into view.

"Oh, you're here," he said dourly. Casey just pursed her lips. _He's __**so**__ lucky I fed before getting here_, she thought to herself. Derek Venturi was just a little boy who didn't realize that she could easily snap his neck and drain him dry before anyone could even stop her. She inhaled and exhaled as if trying to control her breathing. Derek stared at the girl in front of him. It was his new stepsister, Casey MacDonald. _I'll bet she's such a keener_, he thought to himself. She definitely looked like one in her pink sweater and tan pants. He huffed. Why did they have to come here? How come Dad couldn't have just stayed single? He had a mother. He didn't someone pretending to be her. George shifted on his feet nervously.

"Did you get settled in all right?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you, George," Casey replied. Then, "Excuse me, everyone. It's been a long day and I'm tired." With that, she headed up the stairs. In truth, she didn't need to sleep, but she wanted to get out of the room before she did something stupid like literally wring Derek's neck. She sprawled out on the bed and then pulled out the phone that she had gotten from Stefan. She dialed a number.

"Hello?" she heard a few minutes.

"We got here okay," she told him.

"Good. I'll let Damon know," Stefan said.

"Thanks," she smiled. _I wish I could be with them_, she thought. However, they had all decided it would be safer for Casey to be a part from the group for the time being. A hunter had gotten too close to them in California, so they had fled. Then, she pulled some pajamas out of the drawer and quickly changed. A few minutes later, she heard Lizzie's footsteps and the girl walked in. The younger girl also changed into her pajamas and then went to bed. Casey waited until she heard Lizzie's breathing taper off and then got out her journal and a pen.

**Dear journal. Well, here I am in a new place. I miss California, but it wasn't safe for us anymore. Nora's new stepfamily's okay…all but the oldest boy, Derek. He thinks he's all that, but he wouldn't if he knew I could snap his neck while applying my lipstick. But I won't do anything to raise suspicions. Which is why I'll switch to what we like to call our "veggie diet" when my current stash runs out. We're stronger when we drink from humans, but I think someone would notice if people were continually tired or ended up dead. Well, I'll let you know how tomorrow goes. Yours truly, Cassandra Salvatore. **

Casey sighed and then her gaze turned to the name she put. Not Salvatore. She was a MacDonald here. With a heavy heart, she crossed out the name and then put down her name. Once again, she looked at the last line which now read, **Yours truly, Casey MacDonald**.


	5. The Room Part 2

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Very cool. Yes, it is safer. Haven't decided yet actually. Thanks. I know, lol. Here you go.

AfraidToFall94: Thanks, yeah, I know, but this is how it worked out. Oh, I know right? He was such a brat in the earlier seasons. Thanks, here you go.

StarReader2009: Thanks, here you go.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks, I'm glad you're happy. Here you go.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to LJ Smith and the CW. I'm adding a theory of mine to Derek's background.

The next morning, Casey looked up as she sensed the sun coming up. With a sigh, she put on a t-shirt and pants, grabbed a small bag from her drawer, and then went downstairs. _Mmmm. I love the mornings_, she thought to herself. They were so peaceful. That was one of the good things of not needing sleep: watching the sunrise. She looked through the cupboards until she found a glass, and then, she poured the contents of her bag into the cup. Hearing footsteps, she quickly shoved the now empty bag under the bread basket. Almost as soon as she had done so, Derek stepped into view. He didn't greet her but instead walked to a cupboard, reached up, and took down a box of cereal. Presently, the rest of the family came out and each one got themselves something to eat.

"You're not hungry, Casey?" George asked in surprise.

"I'm too nervous to eat," Casey replied. "First day of school and everything," she continued.

"You'll be fine, honey," Nora said.

"Thanks, Mom," Casey responded with a smile. "You know, maybe I will eat something," she continued and went to get herself a bowl of cereal. Derek watched through narrow eyes at the girl. How dare she act as if she owned the place? This wasn't her home. It was **his**! This was the Venturi home, not the MacDonald home. They didn't belong here. Ignoring the stare, Casey sat down and began eating. As he ate, Edwin looked at the newest members of their family. He had met Lizzie at the wedding, but hadn't seen Casey. Nora's explanation was that at the time she had been staying with other family members, and hadn't gotten the invitation to the wedding in time. He looked at the twin gold lockets that Nora and Lizzie were wearing and frowned. He had noticed them last night. _Why would they wear them again?_ he wondered. Then, _Well, they __**did**__ just move in last night. It was probably the first ones that they could find._ After they were done eating, Nora headed outside and went to the car, Casey, and the others at her heels. The woman put the key in the ignition, started the car, and drove off. She dropped Casey and Derek off at Sir John Sparrow Thompson High, and then drove Lizzie and Edwin to Sir John Sparrow Middle School and then Marti was dropped off at Sir John Sparrow Elementary School, and then she went to work. At Sir John Sparrow Thompson High, Casey went into the Principal's office where she got her schedule and then went back to the hallways.

"Okay, I need a locker," she muttered to herself. "210, okay, 210…210…" the sentence trailed off. Then, she let out an exclamation of happiness when she found what she was looking for. Reading the combo, she opened it and was surprised to see that a few books in it already. "Okay, this can't be right. This is somebody else's," she stated. She heard footsteps and then turned around.

"No, you have the right locker…if you're Casey MacDonald," a girl told her.

"Yeah, that's me," Casey confirmed.

"I'm Emily Davids. We're sharing lockers," the girl introduced herself.

"Oh. Okay," Casey said. "That actually works out great," she confessed.

"So you're Derek's new stepsister, right?" Emily asked.

"Yes…unfortunately," Casey replied.

"'Unfortunately'?" Emily repeated. _Is she crazy? She is so lucky! I'm only the next-door neighbor!_ she thought to herself. "You're kidding right? I mean, Derek's the coolest and most popular boy here," she continued. Casey stared at her in disbelief.

"You cannot be serious," she said. Hearing his footsteps, she turned to watch as he swaggered down the hall, occasionally high-fiving people and giving them a 'Sup'. _This guy is popular? I will __**never**__ understand humans_, she thought to herself.

"Who does he think he is, James Dean?" Casey wondered. _Now __**there**__ was a hunk_, she thought to herself. For a moment, the young man's chestnut hair and hazel eyes swam before her. Then, she mentally shook her thoughts away. _Keep it together, girl. You're in high school…again_, she reminded herself. Then, Derek walked past them.

"'Sup?" he greeted Emily before passing them.

"Wow! I got a 'sup'!" she squealed. Casey rolled her eyes. This girl's worship of Derek was going to get old real fast. Then, the warning bell rang and they headed to class, which was just basically homeroom. Casey took out her things placed her binder, notebook, and a pencil in front of her, and started doodling. Feeling someone's eyes on her, she turned her head to see a boy with chestnut blond hair and hazel eyes. _Whoa! He is cute!_ Casey thought to herself. Then, _Forget it, Casey. You're just here to blend in. No crushing on the humans_. After homeroom, she had History, where to her surprise, she saw the guy from homeroom. He stared at her as she took the seat in front of him.

"Okay, class, before we begin the introduction, I'd like to welcome our new student Casey MacDonald," the man stated.

"Hi, Casey," the class greeted. She waved.

"Would you like to stand up and tell us a little about yourself?" the man asked. _Not really_, Casey thought. However, she just smiled and stood up.

"My name's Casey MacDonald and I'm new here," she said and then sat back down.

"Well, I did say 'a little'," the man muttered to himself. The boy cracked a smile. _Casey huh? She's kinda cute_, he thought to himself. He tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to turn around and to glance at him with a raised brow.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I'm Sam. Sam Richards," he introduced himself.

"Hi," she greeted and then turned back around.

"All right, class, as I'm sure you all remember, we've just reached the topic of the Civil War otherwise known as the War Between the States," the man said. "It was on January 19, 1864 when the Battle of Pittsburg Landing was fought," he continued.

"You mean April 6-7 of 1862. January 19 of the same year was the Battle of Mills Spring. Plus, we called it the Battle of Shiloh not the Battle of Pittsburg Landing," Casey corrected. The man stared at her and Sam tried to hold back a laugh.

"Uh, yes…You're absolutely right, Ms. MacDonald. I apologize," he finally stammered. He went on with the lesson and Casey began taking notes. Granted, she wouldn't have to study any of this since she had lived through it, but no one here knew that. Finally, the class was done, and Casey quickly gathered up her belongings and hurried out. Sam quickly grabbed his stuff and followed her out. However, he was surprised to see that she was no longer in the halls. _Where did she go?_ he wondered. How could she have disappeared in the crowd so fast? He shrugged and then spotting Derek, walked over to his friend.

"Dude, have you seen that new girl, Casey?" he asked.

"Why would I care about my dorky stepsister?" Derek responded.

"**That** was your stepsister?" Sam queried.

"What do you mean?" Derek wondered.

"She's like…crazy smart. She just totally nailed Steiner," Sam answered.

"Dude, **anyone** can nail Steiner. The guy's a complete flake," Derek reminded.

"Yeah, but she was like **specific**," Sam continued. Derek rolled his eyes.

"Why are we wasting time talking about my boring stepsister?" he wondered.

"Dude, did you even get to know her."

"No."

"Then, how do you know she's boring?" _What's up with him? He's not usually like this_, Sam thought. Derek whirled around.

"Dude, seriously? What's with that?" he asked. "I don't need intruders in **my** house! Casey is not my stepsister and Nora is **not** Dad's wife!" Sam's expression became understanding. With the arrival of new people in the house, it was proof that his parents' divorce was final and that his mom wasn't coming back.

"I'm sorry, Bro. I know you're missing her."

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you." Derek sighed. _I don't believe this. I had thought…maybe…_his thoughts trailed off, the boy unwilling to dwell on the fact that a part of him had hoped that his parents would get back together. Sam punched Derek's arm lightly and the boy flashed his friend a grateful grin. Then, they went to the next class, where Derek let his mind wander. Then, before he knew it, it was time for his next class, where he again, let himself get lost in his thoughts. Derek repeated this process until it was lunch time. Then, he and Sam went to their usual table where they met up with Ralph Papadopolous.

"So, who's the new hot babe?" Ralph asked.

"Dude, you did not just call my stepsister a babe," Derek replied, looking disgusted.

"What? Casey MacDonald's your stepsister?" Ralph asked.

"Unfortunately," Derek replied with a roll of his eyes. Sam didn't say anything, but looked around. _Man, I wonder where she's sitting_, he thought to himself. Casey was really cute. But he wasn't about to say that to Derek. On the other side of the cafeteria, Casey only half-listened as Emily talked.

"I mean, the way you just totally nailed Steiner was amazing! How did you know all that?" the girl asked. _Oh, easy. I grew up in that Era_, Casey thought to herself.

"I'm a Civil War buff," was what she said out loud. _Oh, will this day never be over?_ she thought. She missed being in school with Stefan. He had always made things bearable. However, she was by herself now. _But hey. I can handle anything. I'm a Salvatore_, she thought proudly. With the new mindset, the rest of her "first day of school" went by much quicker. When they got home, Casey played her part well, raving about the day and new friend Emily as she sat in the living room with Nora.

"But I just can't believe Mr. Steiner's a history teacher! He got his facts all wrong!" she exclaimed, her eyes flashing just a bit.

"Well, history's boring anyways," Derek sneered. _Man, I can't believe I have a keener for a stepsister_, he thought to himself.

"Yeah. Could you get anymore dull?" Edwin chimed in. Lizzie rolled her eyes and Marti remained oblivious to what was going on. Casey didn't answer, but continued talking. As she was doing so, Derek and Edwin shared a look, and then Derek turned on the t.v. As Casey continued to talk, Derek turned up the volume. She raised her voice to be heard over the noise and he also upped the volume.

"DER-EK!" she finally yelled, turning towards him. Nora quickly grabbed the girl's arm.

"Well, I couldn't hear the t.v. with all your jabbering," Derek responded. Casey let out a growl and before anyone could stop her, she rushed at him and shoved him to the ground.

"You're such a selfish little brat! You don't think about anyone but yourself!" she accused. Then, she ran upstairs.

"Man, what a drama queen," Derek grumbled, standing up.

"Derek, you and Edwin were completely rude to Casey," George stated. "Turning the t.v. up as loud as you did while Nora and Casey were having a conversation was inconsiderate and I'm very disappointed in both of you," he continued. Edwin fell silent and stared at the floor. _Dad's right. We shouldn't have done that_, he thought to himself. Derek, however, just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. She doesn't belong here. She's not my family," he said. _They ruined everything. Mom and Dad were supposed to work things out_, he thought to himself. In the room she was sharing with Lizzie, Casey was pacing back and forth angrily. _How dare he? He's such a spoiled, selfish little brat? He thinks this isn't hard on me?_ she fumed silently. The truth was, she had had to really fight not to snap his neck down there. Only the fact that she was supposed to be playing human had stopped her. Casey stayed in her room until Lizzie came up to tell her about dinner.

"All right, um, just let me get some sustenance," the older girl said. Lizzie nodded and then went back downstairs. Casey grabbed a bag of blood and then walked downstairs, keeping the bag by her side so that it would go unnoticed. At dinner, Nora kept a subtle eye on the vampire who ate and talked, and acted like a regular human as she adeptly poured the blood she needed into a cup without being noticed. _She's good_, the woman thought. After dinner, everyone went off to do their own separate thing. Over the next few days, Nora kept her eye on Casey to make sure she was adjusting well, and she noticed that while the vampire had settled into a routine for school without any hitches, the cramped room that she was sharing with Lizzie seemed to be getting on our nerves, even if she didn't complain about it. It was Casey's exclamation of not being able to find her toothbrush that made Nora come to a conclusion. Later that night, Nora sat George on the couch.

"What's going on?" he asked. I hope it's nothing serious. _I really want this to work out between us_, he thought to himself.

"I've been watching the girls, and while they've settled fairly well, one thing has become clear," she told him.

"What?"

"Casey needs her own room."


	6. The Room Part 3

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Twilight Gleek: Thanks, I'm glad you like it. Here's more.

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Yes. Thank you. Yes, it was. No, unless stated, Casey will be acting like a human. Nope, sorry. I'm going to try for that, yes. Here you go. Sorry it took so long.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks. Sorry this isn't soon enough. Well, she's going to play a keener, but at times she'll be like both brothers.

Lanakila91: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. Here you go.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to LJ Smith and the CW. I only own the plot. Any info you see is on the Civil War is from Wikipedia. I made up some things that I thought would be cool and I sped up the process of the basement being converted. And if Casey ever uses her powers, I'll put it in the narration. Otherwise, she's just playing human.

George stared at Nora.

"Her own room?" he echoed.

"Yes," she replied.

"Nora, I don't know. I mean…giving special treatment to Casey…how would that look to the other kids?" He didn't want to cause any disagreements between Casey and her sister, and he didn't want Derek and Edwin to resent her any more than they already seemed to.

"I understand where you're coming from, but it won't look like anything. Lizzie will understand. As for Derek, Marti, and Edwin…I don't see how it's any of their business what bedroom she's in."

"That's true." He sighed. "All right, but the only extra space we have is the basement."

"I'll talk to her in the morning." _Hopefully she won't mind_, the woman thought to herself. Then, they stood up and went to their bedroom and went to the sleep. The next morning, Casey quickly drank some blood from a bag before coming downstairs. To her surprise, Derek, Edwin, Marti, and Lizzie were sitting at the table while Nora and George stood at the head of the table.

"What's going on?" Casey asked, subtly making sure with a hand that there were no traces of blood on her lips.

"Casey, last night, Nora told me that you might feel more comfortable with your own room," George stated. Confused, Casey turned to Nora. She hadn't said anything, so would she have known that she wasn't completely happy with the living arrangement?

"I kind of kept an eye on you honey," Nora answered, as if she was reading the girl's mind. "Plus, yelling about not being able to find your toothbrush was kind of a give away," she continued.

"Sorry," Casey responded sheepishly. "Yes, it's a bit cramped sharing a room with Lizzie, but I didn't want to complain about something so trivial," she continued. _When you've been around for a hundred and forty-one years, you learn to not sweat the small stuff_, she thought.

"And it's appreciated," George told her. "However, you **are** a teenager, and you **should** have your own space," he continued. Casey turned to Lizzie.

"How do you feel about this?" she asked.

"It's fine. It makes perfect sense," Lizzie replied. _Plus, it's kind of weird sleeping in the same room as someone who doesn't need to_, she added silently. Not that she worried that Casey would ever try to bite her, it just weird knowing that Casey would be awake all night instead of sleeping.

"Okay. Yeah, that'd be great," Casey said.

"So, wait. One of us is going to have to give up our rooms?" Derek asked.

"Not me!" Marti yelled.

"No one is giving up their room. I'm going to take the day off so that I can convert the basement into a bedroom for Casey," George answered. For a moment, everyone went silent. _The basement? Is he serious? That place is a disaster_, Edwin thought to himself. Not that he really cared, but…still. Marti made a face. _That place is icky. Who'd want to live there?_ she wondered. _The basement? Eeeew_, Lizzie thought with an internal shudder. _The basement? That's-that's-that's perfect for me. It's close enough where I can still be part of the family, but far away enough where I don't have to smell everybody's blood coursing through their veins. Plus, I'd be able to put my blood bags out in plain sight_, she thought to herself. Derek grinned wildly.

"That's a great idea, Dad! Get the boring keener away from us so that we're not contaminated," he approved. _Ha! This just proves that she's not part of this family_, he thought smugly.

"Derek," George said warningly.

"The basement?" Casey echoed. "The basement? Are you serious?" she asked. Marti, Edwin, and Derek stared in shock. Instead of sounding outraged, she sounded…happy?

"I know what this may seem like-"

"No! No! It doesn't seem like anything!" Casey interrupted. "The basement is perfect for me," she assured. Derek and Edwin's jaw dropped at the words. She **wanted** the basement? What was wrong with her? "Is that everything?" Casey asked. George nodded and Casey went to get some cereal and Lizzie did the same. The vampire looked at the younger girl and then nudged her shoulder. "Where's the necklace?" she asked in a whisper. Lizzie pulled her shirt collar forward to reveal the jewelry under the fabric. "Smart move," came the approval. Yeah, so far it looked like Casey was the only vampire in Ontario, but why take any chances? George watched as his two stepdaughters sat down at the table and began eating. When they were done, they got into the car and George drove the kids to their respective schools before returning home and getting to work on the basement. At the high school, Casey went into homeroom as Derek went to his own class. His mind wandered to the conversation that had transpired that morning. _How come Casey was so happy about being put in the basement?_ He wondered. Then, he shrugged. It was probably just another stupid quirk of hers. If she wanted their basement as a bedroom, she could have it. The farther away she was from them, the better. Then, he forced himself to pay attention. The last thing he needed was to get caught spacing out during the first class of the day. Using supreme effort, he was able to pay enough attention not to get noticed, but not enough attention where it would ruin his reputation. When the class was finally over, he gathered up his things and went to the next class. In the halls, he saw Casey talking to his next door neighbor, Emily. He stared for a minute, but then hurried off to his next class. Casey rolled her eyes when she saw Derek rushing away.

"What?" Emily asked.

"Nothing," Casey replied. _He hates me that much, huh? Well, whatever. I'm only here until I can go back to my brothers_, she thought to herself as Emily continued talking. Then, she realized that her new friend wasn't listening.

"Casey? Hello? Earth to Casey," she called, waving a hand in front of her face.

"Sorry, Em. Didn't get a lot of sleep last night," she lied. "You were saying?" Before Emily could continue, the warning bell rang and they headed for history. Casey was about to enter when they almost ran into Sam who was headed in the same direction.

"Sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going," she apologized.

"Hey, neither was I," he chuckled. Then, he stepped aside and let the girls enter before him. _Such a gentleman_, Casey thought to herself. For a moment, she could've sworn she was back in Mystic Falls 1864. For a moment, she let herself get lost in the memories. _Cassandra walked up to the carriage, where a boy gently lifted her up into the seat._

"_Thank you," she said demurely._

"Casey! Yoo-hoo! Casey!" Casey blinked as she suddenly became aware of Emily's hand waving in front of her face once again.

"Sorry. I drifted," she apologized. Then, there was no time for further conversation as Mr. Steiner walked in. _Hmm. I wonder what he'll get wrong this time_, Casey thought with a slight smirk. There was nothing better than to correct someone who was supposed to be an authority on the past. Seeing the absolute shock on their faces was always priceless. Even Stefan, who was for the most part the more serious of the three Salvatores, enjoyed partaking in that bit of mischief from time to time. The door opened and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Derek come in.

"**He**'**s** in this class?" she asked in disbelief. _Really? I can't even enjoy my favorite part of history because of him?_ she thought.

"Yeah. I'm not sure why he skipped yesterday," Sam replied.

"Like I care?" Casey asked. Sam and Emily didn't seem to know how to respond to that.

"All right, class. Settle down," Mr. Steiner stated, clapping. _Seriously? What are we, twelve?_ Casey wondered. "Now then, if you've done the reading like you were supposed to, you'll remember that the Army of Tennessee helped win the 1861 Battle of Leesburg as it was known in the South. Now, who can tell me the Northern name for this battle?" Various students raised their hands. "Miss MacDonald?"

"The Battle of Ball's Bluff."

"That's correct." He went on with the lecture as Casey took notes. As the class continued, Sam found himself continually staring at Casey. _Wow. She's really pretty_, he thought to himself. And she was smart too. Mr. Steiner mentioned another battle and Casey flipped through the pages to find the paragraph that talked about it. Suddenly, a drawing caught her eye. To anyone else, it was just another old fashioned drawing of a group of men in the Confederate Army that someone had done in their spare time, but to Casey, it was like looking into the past. Her gaze zeroed in on one of the men in the back of the depiction. His face was slightly obscured, but she'd know him anywhere.

"Damon," she said fondly too softly for any of her classmates to hear. She caressed the photo lightly. Then, she grinned as a memory of him coming home in his uniform flashed before her eyes. _Oh, he had looked so handsome in that uniform_, Casey recalled. Then, she continued with her note-taking. After history, she went to English, where they were studying old literature, a subject that Casey had grown to enjoy. Afterwards, she went to lunch, where she was joined by Emily.

"So, how's second been so far?" Emily asked.

"It's been good. At least Mr. Steiner got his facts right this time," Casey replied and Emily laughed. Then, "Hi, Sam."

"Whoa. You're good," Sam commented. He hadn't even realized that she had heard come up.

"Saw you out of the corner of my eye," Casey lied. In actuality, she had recognized his scent. Every human in the world had their own particular smell that was based on their emotions, much like a fingerprint. Emily's was one of that mirrored lilacs and roses, with a tinge of pepper and Sam's scent seemed to be musty and dank, with a smell of ash wood. Like humans, vampires and werewolves had unique smells, just heightened and the creatures were able to sense each other.

"May I join you?" Sam queried.

"If you want," Casey shrugged and Sam sat down across from them.

"So, how you likin' it here?" Sam wondered.

"It's okay. It's hard getting used to having a bigger family. I mean, I've been so used to it being Dad, Mom, me, and Lizzie, and then just me, mom, and Lizzie," Casey replied.

"I can't even imagine," Sam said. Casey was about to say more when a new smell hit her nostrils. The smell was like echoes of fire, thunder, and lightning.

"Hello, Derek," she acknowledged.

"Are you done harassing my friend?" Derek asked snidely. _ Really? She thinks she can just move in here and still my best friend away?_ he thought.

"Uh, dude, chill," Sam said. "I asked if I could sit down and they said yes," he told his friend. Derek stared in disbelief. _What?_ he wondered.

"Sam, just go sit with Derek. It's fine," Casey said.

"Butt out, Keener! You don't need to give permission to **my best friend** to have lunch with me!" Derek exclaimed, storming over and leaning over her threateningly. "You're nothing but an intruder in my home! You don't belong here!" he continued. As she jumped up, Casey's eyes flashed and she had to struggle to keep from letting her true features show. _You're a human. You're a human. You're a human_, she coached herself. So, instead of grabbing him and snapping him like a twig, she did what any human girl would do when confronted with a jerk. She grabbed her cup of soda and threw it at him. Then, she stomped out of the cafeteria.

"Did you see that? What a freak!" he huffed, sitting in the seat Casey had just vacated. Then, he flashed a flirtatious smile at Emily.

"Hey, Emily," he greeted, leaning towards her. To his surprise, she slapped him, and then quickly hurried out.

"What's with her?" he wondered.

"Dude, that was harsh. Even for you," Sam said.

"Sam, come on," Derek said.

"You're upset because your parents are never getting back together, I get it. But look at things from Casey's point of view. She's the one who had to pack up everything, leave her school, her neighborhood…her friends. She's going through a rough time, just like you," Sam continued. Derek didn't say anything, but averted his gaze. He hadn't really thought of that before. _ I suppose it __**would**__ stink leaving everyone you knew and loved behind_, he thought to himself. "Look man. I know you. I know you're better than this. Just deal with what you're feeling. It'll be better for everyone in the long run." Derek nodded. Sam was right. Meanwhile, at the MacDonald/Venturi residence, George and Nora were in the basement moving some things around. Finally, they were done.

"Are you sure this is what she'll like? I mean, it's awful bare," George stated doubtfully.

"Trust me, Georgie. Casey will love it," Nora assured. Then, "But we do need to buy her a small refrigerator."

"What?"

"Yeah, Casey sometimes likes to have food just for herself, you know?"

"Um…okay. Let's go." They went out, went to the store, where they looked at some of the refrigerators that they had. Nora looked at the appliances thoughtfully. Which one would work for Casey? There were white ones, brown ones, black ones, and even red and pink ones. She discarded the last two colors, instinctively knowing that the vampire wouldn't like them. Then, she continued to look at the refrigerators, checking for inside space, as George followed her, a bit confused. She was giving this much thought to a refrigerator meant for her daughter? Why? Presently, she came upon another black refrigerator. She scrutinized it. Unlike the other refrigerators, this one wasn't too big or too small or, bulky, or thin, or anything. In fact, it looked…perfect. She opened it, and nodded, liking what she was seeing.

"This one," she announced. George went to get a salesman who told them the price. They paid for it and left. Once they were back home, Nora got out of the car, opened the front door, went into the house, and opened the door leading to the basement. Then, she came back out and helped George lift the refrigerator and carry it down to the basement, where they put it in a corner.

"There…perfect," Nora approved with a pant. George just moaned. When it was finally time to pick up the kids, they went back out to the car and did so. Minutes later, they were back home.

"Casey, would you check the basement and tell me what you think?" George requested. Casey ran down the stairs and her mouth dropped in pleased surprise when she saw the room. It was dark and bare, and had a refrigerator in the corner. She ran back upstairs.

"I love it! Thanks, so much, George. I'm gonna go put my stuff in here," she said, hugging him briefly and then ran to her room, and began the process of moving her things. The last thing she moved was her bags of blood, which she lined up in a row in the refrigerator. _Thank you, Nora. This is perfect_, she thought to herself. Then, she gingerly lied on the bed and smiled widely.


	7. Interlude 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. Hmmm…I just might use that. Thanks, no, I didn't have them see it. We'll see. Like I said, thanks, I had forgotten about that. Yeah, I figured he'd stand up for her. Okey-dokey, here you go. Yes, it is.

AfraidToFall94: But she's keeping that a secret, so…it wouldn't have been beneficial to her. Oooh. Did you have a good time? Well, keep reading.

DISCLAIMER

The Vampire Diaries belongs to LJ Smith and the CW. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. I don't know if I'll do other interludes, but just in case, I'll call this the first one. Interludes will generally be shorter than other chapters. Takes place in between the episode "Puppy Dog Tales" and "Cassandra" which will be a re-working of "Grade-Point: Average".

After she was done getting ready for school, Casey snuck into Lizzie's room and looked around the girl's desk until she found what she was looking for: a purplish plant. She gathered up the plant and guided it into a bag, trying to be as careful as she could. However, she couldn't completely keep the plant from touching her skin. _Ow_, she thought. She groaned as she felt the plant against her hand. Then, she dropped to a knee.

"Casey!" Almost instantly, Lizzie was by the vampire's side. "What are you doing with vervain?" she asked

"You never know-when another vampire could show up. Gotta protect Emily and Sam," came the pained response. Lizzie shook her head in slight annoyance. _And she couldn't have just asked?_ she thought. Casey knew she would've done it for her if she had just asked.

"Okay, how 'bout this? You go choose something you want to put the vervain in, and I'll do it for you," the younger girl suggested as she helped her up.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," she agreed. She stumbled out of the room and headed to her room.

"Casey, are you okay?" Nora asked in concern when the girl stumbled and had to grab onto the couch to keep from falling. _What happened? Did she come in contact with vervain?_ she wondered.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Casey lied, pushing herself away from the couch. Then, she continued on to her room and got out the things that she wanted to put the vervain in: a cotton bracelet for Emily and a wrist cuff for Sam. Once she had the items, she went back upstairs to Lizzie's bedroom and the younger girl mixed the flower into them.

"Okay, for Sam I sewed strips of the vervain into the leather so that he doesn't realize that it's a flower, and for Emily, I interwove the flowers with the bracelet. She won't be able to pull them off," Lizzie said as she placed each item in a box and then handed the two containers to her pseudo-sister.

"Thanks," Casey acknowledged, taking the boxes. Then, she looked at her watch.

"Oh, shoot. We gotta go," she realized.

"I just don't see why you just don't blur to school," Lizzie said in a soft tone as they headed downstairs and to the car.

"Because as far as the Venturis know, I'm human. They have no idea that vampires exist," Casey responded in the same tone as they got into the car. Nora put the key in the ignition, and then headed to the different schools. When Casey and Derek were dropped off, Casey hurried to find Sam and Emily. She ran into Emily at their locker.

"Hey," Casey greeted.

"Oh, hi," Emily acknowledged.

"Hey, I have something for you," Casey told her. "It's just kind of a thank-you thing," she continued, handing her the box with the bracelet.

"Oh, Case," Emily said. She opened the box and placed the bracelet on her wrist. "Thank you. I love it," she stated, giving her a friend a hug.

"No problem," Casey answered.

"I'll wear it forever," Emily promised. _That'd be advisable_, Casey thought.

"Have you seen Sam yet?" she asked out loud and Emily shook her head. "All right. I guess I'll catch him in homeroom," she sighed. Then, she grabbed the books that she needed and they headed for the room. Casey had just settled in her seat when Sam and Derek walked in. Seeing him, Casey grabbed the box, stood up, and walked up to them.

"Yes?" Derek asked in confusion. _What does she want?_ he wondered.

"I have a thanks-for-being-nice-to-me gift for Sam," Casey answered, handing him the box. Confused and curious, Sam opened the box.

"A wrist cuff! Cool!" he approved. "Thanks," added, putting it on. Derek noticed the purple lining in the cuff but didn't say anything. Satisfied, Casey went back to her seat and got ready for another day.


	8. Cassandra Part 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

AfraidToFall94: Thanks, I'm glad you had fun. Whoops. That's not good. I don't think we do, but hey, I'd probably like it. I'm weird too. Keep reading.

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Yeah. Thanks. Maybe, maybe not. Yes, she is. No. She didn't ingest it, so it wasn't necessary. Here you go. Sorry it wasn't as soon as you had hoped.

Twilight Gleek: Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it. Here you go.

Lanakila91: Thanks, well, I always thought Derek was **way** smarter than he let on, though his confusion over the word 'oxymoron' was hilarious.

Phoebe P: Thanks. Wow, you're reading blind (reading a story without knowing the characters). I'm glad you think so. Okey-dokey. Here you go.

DISCLAIMER

This is a reworking of the episode "Grade-Point: Average". Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs LJ Smith and the CW. I only own the plot. This chapter has flashbacks as will later ones. I got info on the Civil War from Wikipedia, an American Civil War site, and a few "Dear America" books. Special thanks to Dark-Supernatural-Angel for their input on this chapter.

MYSTIC FALLS, VIRGINIA 1864

_Cassandra carefully walked down the steps in her gown. Her cheeks flushed as she caught various young men staring at her. __I hate these stupid parties and I hate this corset__, she bitterly thought_ _to herself. She hated it when they had to host these parties, but she knew better than to complain. It would just make Father unhappy. She had just reached the bottom of the stairs and was about to go to the table to get a beverage when someone grabbed her arm._

_ "Cassandra," a voice said. She sighed._

_ "I've told you again and again, Tyrone. I am __**not**__ interested in your advances,"_ _she reminded, breaking free of his grasp. _

_ "And why not? I am the most eligible and most good-looking bachelor at this party," Tyrone Lockwood reminded her. __And you're also the most arrogant,_ _Cassandra thought to herself. She rolled her eyes and turned to walk away. She gave a pained yelp as Tyrone grabbed her arm and pulled her back._

_ "Hey! Let her go!" They turned to see Stefan. Tyrone looked at the boy, released Cassandra, and then ran off._

_ "Are you all right?" Stefan asked anxiously._

_ "Yes, thank you," Cassandra sighed in relief._

"Casey? Hello, Casey?" Casey shook her head, clearing away her thoughts.

"I'm sorry. What did you say, Emily?" she questioned.

"I said, 'What do you think about the party that's coming up tonight'?" the other girl reminded.

"Oh, I don't know, Emily. I'm not really much of a party person," the vampire replied.

"Like that's real surprising," a voice sneered.

"Shut up, Derek," Casey responded as her "stepbrother" joined them. Her nose wrinkled at the new smell radiating from him. It was like-ice and feathers mixed together, which was really weird. _That smells worse than werewolf_, she thought to herself. Derek scoffed at her, and then at the sound of someone calling his name.

"I'm gonna go. I wanna look over some notes before class," Casey told Emily.

"Okay," Emily shrugged. Sure they had plenty of time since homeroom had let out early, but it **was** Casey after all. Outside the classroom, Casey pulled out a binder and flipped through her notes.

"Let's see, some Southern leaders were Albert Sidney Johnston, Daniel Harris Reynolds, Nathan Bedford Forrest, Robert Edward Lee, and Winfield Scott Hancock," she muttered to herself. Then, she smiled seeing a name. "Colonel Bradley Winters," she read. _Damon's commanding officer_, she thought to herself. Though Damon hadn't particularly wanted to fight in the war, he had done so to please their father, and often sent home letters to her and Stefan, letting them know what was going on. They had even met Colonel Winters once, and found him to be a very charming man, whom Damon had respected. Hearing Mr. Steiner dismissing his previous class, Casey quickly put the binder back into her backpack and walked in as other students walked out. Casey then pulled out her things and set them on her desk as the rest of her classmates came in. After everyone was seated, Mr. Steiner started the class and Casey once again began taking notes. She quickly looked over her notes and sighed, letting a smirk grace her features. Oh, if only Damon and Stefan could see her now. They'd get such a kick out of her "learning about" the Civil War. Then, her face fell a little. She really missed her brothers. _I wish we weren't forced to separate_, she thought to herself. Surprisingly, they had all gotten along very well. _Cassandra laughed as Damon spun her around on the dance floor. Presently, Tyrone walked up to them._

_ "May I cut in?" he requested._

_ "No, you may not. I've just returned home, and I would like to spend some quality time with my little sister," Damon answered, and without giving the boy a chance to_ _respond, he led her further out into the dance floor. _

_ "Thank you," Cassandra said emphatically._

_ "Well, there's no way I am letting my baby sister be corrupted by the likes of Tyrone Lockwood," Damon stated. _ _Then, "He's such a boorish brute. Hardly an acceptable match for a Salvatore." Cassandra laughed, throwing her head back. _Casey smiled. Damon had always known how to make her laugh. And Stefan was always there for her no matter what…even when she made stupid mistakes. _ Cassandra ran up the stairs of their home, tears streaming down her face. She didn't even see Stefan until she bumped into him._

_ "Cassandra, what is it? What's wrong?" Stefan asked in concern. _

_ "I was stupid. I thought that he liked me," she sobbed, throwing her arms around him._

_ "Who?" Stefan asked angrily._

_ "Kenneth Gilbert," Cassandra replied. Stefan wiped away her tears and forced her chin up so that they were looking directly at one another._

_ "Did he hurt you?" he asked seriously. __If he did, I'll kill him. Friends of the family or no__, he thought. _

_ "Just my feelings," Cassandra replied. She sniffled and Stefan held her in his arms, making soothing shushing noises._

"Miss MacDonald?" Startled, Casey looked up.

"Sorry. I drifted," she apologized.

"Perhaps somebody else," Mr. Steiner said, and called on a different student. _That was stupid, Cassandra! You can't afford to drift!_ Casey berated herself. Then, she refocused her attention and continued with her note-taking. When it was nearly time for the class to be over, everyone started packing up.

"Hold it!" Mr. Steiner called. Everyone froze. "I'm assigning you all to do a project on the Civil War," he told them and they all groaned. Then, he began reading off names. Casey glanced at Sam. Maybe she'd be paired up with him. That'd be cool. However, it wasn't meant to be. "Sam and Emily," Mr. Steiner read off. The two looked at each other.

"Cool," Sam said.

"It should be fun," Emily stated.

"And Derek and Casey," Mr. Steiner finished.

"WHAT!" they chorused. _He can't put me with him, I'll kill him!_ Casey thought to herself. _I don't want to work with my stupid stepsister_, Derek thought to himself. However, no amount of pleading or begging could get the man to change his mind. Finally, Casey let out a growl that was too low for human ears and then stomped out of the classroom. _I don't believe this! How am I supposed to hide my diet from him if we have to work together?_ she wondered. She let out a sigh of annoyance. She **really** didn't need this aggravation. She was only here to hide from hunters and the only thing Derek Venturi would ever be good for was a quick nibble. _Hmmm…that could be fun_, Casey thought. Then, _Nah. It'd attract too much unwanted attention_. With a shrug, she continued on her way. She'd just have to deal. When it was finally time for lunch, she went into the cafeteria, got her food, and then sat down. Almost immediately, Derek came to sit beside her.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

"Look Keener, I'm just as unhappy as you are about being paired up, but we might as well just get it over with," he told her. "Look, just do the research, write the report, and I'll do the talking," he continued. _She's gonna be so grateful that she'll say yes_, he thought.

"So in other words, I would do all the work, while you would get all the credit," she said out loud. _Humans. What has this place come to? I remember when people would actually __**fight**__ for their accomplishments_, she thought to herself with a small shake of her head.

"Well, yeah. That way-" Derek's voice trailed off as Casey's eyes darkened.

"Listen here. I don't appreciate slackers, so you're going to do your share, do you understand me?" she snapped, glaring at him and getting into his face as she tried to keep her features normal. Derek gulped. _Whoa. She looks ticked_, he thought to himself.

"Uh, yeah. That-that's fine," he agreed shakily.

"Good. Now go away," she snapped again. Derek couldn't get away fast enough. Casey turned her attention to her food and began eating as Emily walked up to her.

"What's up with Derek?" the girl asked, sitting down.

"Oh, he just thought he could get me to do **all** of the work for our project," the other girl replied. "Man, I can't believe it! He's such an irresponsible, little brat," she continued, shaking her head. Emily kept quiet. She wasn't really sure how to respond. Meanwhile, at another table, Sam was listening to Derek complain about what had just happened.

"I mean, she acted so ungrateful when I told how to handle this stupid project. I mean, you should've heard her," Derek said.

"Derek, **I** would've told you to get lost," Sam responded. "Sounds like you were just trying to coast by," he continued.

"Well, whatever," Derek muttered, eating a French fry. "Man, at least you got Emily who's semi-cool. I'm stuck with my stepsister," he continued. Sam rolled his eyes. He was getting **so** tired of Derek's complaints about Casey.

"Dude, why don't you just use this opportunity to actually get to know her?" was what he said out loud.

"But-"

"Dude, she did **not** chase your mom away." Derek slumped in his seat.

"I know." _But then, does that I mean I drove her away? Did she get tired of me and just used Dad as an excuse?_ he wondered. As if knowing where his thought process had taken him, Sam punched Derek on the arm.

"Don't even go there, Bro. The divorce wasn't your fault." Derek nodded. When lunch was finally over, everyone went back to their classes. In her class, Casey disguised drumming her fingers on the desk by taking notes. _I'm so bored_, she thought. She had known all this stuff for centuries. Playing human wasn't as fun when you were all alone. Not that Nora and Lizzie weren't nice or anything, but they couldn't understand her problems like Stefan and Damon could. In the next class, she did the same until it was time to go home. _Yay! Freedom!_ she thought to herself. She quickly put her books in her bag and dashed out. However, she soon realized that she was moving at her vampire speed, an act Stefan had termed "blurring", and forced herself to slow down, causing her to stumble a bit, but she managed to catch herself. _Smooth_, she could almost hear Damon's voice tease. Damon. Ohhhh! She missed her brothers! And why did they have to be studying the Civil War? She had **hated** that period! Families had been torn apart and sons and fathers had been killed. Almost as if had been conjured up, an old song came to mind. It had been a Union song first, but she and others in the South had adopted it and made it their own.

"Weeping sad and lonely, hopes and fears how vain, yet praying, when this cruel war is over, praying that we meet again," Casey sang to herself. _Sadly, it took about four years for the war to end. And then blacks weren't even given rights until the 60s_, she thought to herself. Her reverie was broken when Derek walked up to her.

"Let's go. I don't want Dad thinking I left you here," he said gruffly but without his usual malice. Casey followed him and they went to where George was waiting in a Volkswagen Beetle. They both got in silently.

"Okay, did you two have a fight?" he asked wearily. When he had first heard about Casey coming to live with them, he had been ecstatic, but he was growing tired of her and Derek's constant bickering.

"We'll get along fine as long as he does his part of the project," Casey responded.

"But the Civil War is boring!" Derek protested.

"Derek, if you've been assigned to work on an assignment with Casey, I expect you to do your fair share," George told him. Derek blew out a breath, but nodded his compliance. When they got home, Casey immediately went to her bedroom, where pulled out a notebook and pen, and started writing.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

The song Casey sings "Weeping-again" is taken from the Dear America book "When Will This Cruel War Be Over?" by Barry Denenberg.


	9. Cassandra Part 2

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Derek-Supernatural-Angel: Yes, I am. Well, you have to remember, she's playing human. And sorry, no Dasey. Love it, but I suck at writing it. You'll find out. Thank you. I'm glad you think so. True, but that would defeat her purpose of pretending to be human. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

AfraidToFall94: Thanks. Glad you liked it. Guess you'll have to read on and see. The majority of this fic is taking place in Canada.

Twilight Gleek: Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it. Sorry this isn't soon enough, here's more.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks, glad you liked it. Read on and see. Read on and see. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Lanakila91: Thanks. Well, keep reading. Guess you'll just have to read on and see what happens. Here you go. Sorry it took so long.

DISCLAIMER

Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry this took so long to update! First I had trouble figuring out how to incorporate something, and then I had to prep for finals. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot. Some info on the Civil War is from a few "Dear America" books and internet sites.

Meanwhile, Derek was in his own room, listening to music through a pair of headphones as he idly flipped through his textbook. _This is so boring. I mean, these people are dead and buried_, he thought to himself. So why should he care? However, he knew that if he didn't at least do a decent job on the project, his father would be incredibly disappointed in him, and he had always hated that feeling. With a sigh, he turned off his music and forced himself to concentrate on the subject. Once again, he flipped through the pages. Despite himself, he became interested in what he was reading and soon grabbed a pen to mark things that had caught his eye. _I hate to admit it, but this is actually pretty cool_, he thought. He had never realized that most boys had been thirteen through twenty-one. That was even younger than him. _I can't even imagine going off to war before I even started high school_, he thought. It was pretty heavy stuff. He no doubt would've joined the North. No one deserved to be a slave. _Hmm. Me in a Union Suit. I hate conformity, but I bet I would've looked awesome_, he thought to himself. Yeah, he could just see it now: he'd be in the blue uniform, gun in hand, ready for action. No doubt it would've driven the ladies wild. After all, he was Derek Venturi. He could rock anything, even a soldier's uniform. He continued to read and wasn't even aware that any time had passed until he faintly heard his dad call up the stairs that it was time for dinner. _Seriously? I've been __**studying**__ all this time?_ Derek thought to himself. Unreal. He closed his book and then went downstairs to find Casey and the rest of his family sitting at a table.

"So, Casey, George tells me you and Derek were partnered up for a history project," Nora commented.

"Yeah, we're studying the Civil War," Casey replied. _Not that I need to. Heck, I could __**teach**__ it_, she thought.

"Wow. That sounds kinda neat," Lizzie stated. _It's not like she actually needs to study it though_, she thought to herself.

"Yeah, and actually, it's really interesting," Derek chimed in, causing his family to turn to stare at him. _Is he serious?_ Casey wondered. "I mean, let's get serious, the uniforms must've been **major** turn-ons for the ladies," he continued. _Can't let 'em know that I'm serious. They'd never let me hear the end of it_, he thought to himself. Casey huffed. _Figures_, she thought. She should've known that he wouldn't take the project seriously.

"The Civil War wasn't a joke, Derek. It tore entire families apart," she said out loud. "Fathers against sons, mothers against daughters, siblings against siblings, husbands against wives-" she continued.

"Okay, Keener, we get it," Derek interrupted. _Jeez, I didn't mean to make her mad_, he thought.

"That's enough, you two," Nora reprimanded lightly. The last thing they needed was for Casey to lose her temper and forget that she was playing human. Lizzie just rolled her eyes as Edwin and Marti ignored them. The rest of the dinner was eaten in relatively good spirits. Afterwards, Casey and Derek went back to their rooms as Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti went to the living room. Casey looked over her writing to make sure that her paper was accurate, but wouldn't raise any suspicions by being **too** informative. Presently, her door opened and Derek walked down the stairs.

"Derek, haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Casey demanded.

"Chillax, I just wanted to show what I wrote for my part of the project," Derek responded. _Chillax? Seriously, who talks like that?_ Casey wondered. In all of her one hundred and forty-one years, she had never heard the phrase.

"All right," was all she said. He handed her his paper and she perused it. "Hey, this is some pretty good info," she noted. _It's accurate, relevant, and he's made some really insightful remarks_, she thought to herself. She had to admit, she was pleasantly surprised…not that she'd ever tell Derek of course. His head was big enough as it was.

"Yeah?" Derek asked. "I mean, not that I care," he continued. And he didn't. After all, it was just a school project. It wasn't like he cared about the grade that they got. The subject had just happened to pique his interest.

"Whatever," Casey said with a roll of her eyes. He couldn't even take a compliment. She then handed the paper back to him and he walked out of the room, heading back to his own. _Wow. I can't believe she actually liked what I wrote_, he thought to himself. Then, _Why am I caring? It's not like she's really my family_. _Her opinion doesn't count._ Derek sighed in annoyance as he flopped down on his bed. He had to get these stupid thoughts out of his head! But, he could admit to himself at least, that Nora, Lizzie, and Casey weren't as bad as he had originally thought. Especially Nora. When she and Dad had first gotten married, he had thought that she'd just swoop in and try to be his mother, which he **really** didn't need. He already had a mother. But she had just stepped back and had given him his space. _I really should thank her for that_, he thought to himself. But…later. He did after all, have other classes, and Dad would kill him if he fell behind in any of them. In her own room, Lizzie was listening to some contemporary rock while reading a textbook. She turned the page. Then, her brows furrowed. Had she heard something? She removed her headphones and then a knock came.

"Come in," she called. The door opened to reveal Edwin.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey, what's up?" she wondered.

"Taking a brain break from homework. And for once, Derek's not asking me to do **his**," came the response. Lizzie chuckled. Edwin looked around the room. He hadn't really been inside the younger MacDonald's room before. Usually they just hung out in the living room. Her room consisted mostly of books and c.d.'s, but there were some posters on the wall. Edwin walked over to the c.d. collection and rifled through them. Then, he picked one up and looked at it.

"You're an NSYNC fan?" Edwin asked in surprise. _I didn't think this was her type of music. I mean, it's not what we usually hear_, he thought to himself.

"I **am** a girl and they're cute," Lizzie answered defensively, as she took the c.d. from him and put it back.

"Okay, okay. I didn't mean anything by it," Edwin said in a placating tone. He continued to look around, and finally ended up at the bookshelves. Then, he gasped in surprise and pulled a comic wrapped in plastic from the shelf.

"Whoa. A Batman #14? There's only-" Edwin started to say.

"Four in existence, I know," Lizzie finished.

"How did you get this?" Edwin wondered, fingering the plastic that was around the comic. _Man, this is so cool!_ he thought. _Oh, a 140+ year old vampire was browsing in a comic book store during the eighties and found it and then gave it to me a couple of years ago_, Lizzie thought.

"Got lucky," was all she said out loud.

"I didn't know you were into comics."

"I like some, but I'm not a big fan." Edwin nodded. That made sense.

"So, if you're not a big fan, then this comic-"

"Is still **mine**. The ones that I like, I follow big time." Edwin made a noise of disappointment and Lizzie laughed. "Sorry, Edwin. But if you're **extremely** careful with it, you can **borrow** it."

"Really?"

"Yes." Edwin grinned. This was so cool! He loved comics, and the Batman #14s were really big issues. While this was going on, Nora and George were talking in the living room, while keeping an eye on Marti who was playing at their feet.

"Georgie, I'm a little worried about Casey and Derek working on this project together," Nora commented.

"Not to worry, Nora. I'll make sure he does his fair share," George responded. The woman smiled.

"That's sweet, but that's not exactly what I'm worried about," she stated.

"Then what?" he asked.

"It's them working together. Casey can get…explosive," she answered carefully. _Not that Derek is much help. __If he's not careful, he's liable to get himself bit_, she thought to herself.

"Well, Derek **does** have a temper himself," George mused. "But I think this'll be good for him. He was so hurt by my and Abby's divorce and if he can see that just because you're part of our family now, it doesn't mean Abby and I love him any less, it'll be good for him." Nora fell silent. She wasn't really sure what to say to that. She knew Derek had been having a hard time, but she just wasn't sure what to do to make things easier on him.

"I-I wasn't trying to make you feel bad or uncomfortable…" George said before his voice died.

"You didn't," Nora assured. She sighed. "I just hope those two don't kill each other." George let out a rueful chuckle and then turned his attention to his daughter, who had since fallen asleep.

"I think we better get this little one up to bed," he commented, bending down to gather her in his arms. Then, the three headed up the stairs. Back in her room, Casey had finished her work and was now writing in her journal.

**Dear journal, Derek and I are working on a project together. We're studying the Civil War. What a laugh. I don't need to study it, I ****lived**** it. Oh, it was a terrible time! Damon and Father had ****so**** many fights. Damon didn't believe in the South's cause-he felt that people should be** **free. ****But he joined the Confederate army to make him happy…not that it really worked, but what could Damon do? It was the times. We weren't able to change** **them.**

Casey put her pen down and sighed. Those **had** been terrible times. The Civil War wasn't exactly something she liked to remember…especially considering the fact that it was also during this time that Tyrone Lockwood had brutally attacked her. If Katherine hadn't given her blood, she would've died for sure. Casey's eyes clouded as the memory came back. _Cassandra walked along the path. Hearing footsteps, she turned around. To her annoyance, she saw Tyrone Lockwood._

"_What do you want, Tyrone?' she demanded._

"_There's no need for that tone with me, Cassandra," the boy stated as he approached her. Then, before she could stop him, he reared back a fist and punched her in the face. Before she could get her bearings, he was on top of her. There was a tearing sound and Cassandra tried to scream, but her voice was muffled by his_ _hand._ _Then, she felt a burst of pain as he entered her, and she began to struggle more, hitting, kicking, scratching-doing anything she could to free herself. She was hit again and the boy put his hands around her throat. She gagged and desperately clawed at him and then-darkness claimed her._ Casey growled and she could feel her features changing at the memory. _If Pearl hadn't found me, I would've died for certain. The beating and choking he put me through were quite extensive_, she recalled. Then, she smirked, her retaliation for the attack coming back to her.

"_Not so fast, vampires," a voice told them. _

_"Anna, get in the carriage," Pearl commanded and Anna did so, being followed by Emily._

_"Tyrone," Damon growled. He stepped forward, only to be stopped by Cassandra._

_"It's okay, Damon. I can take care of this," she told him. Tyrone's eyes widened._

"_Impossible. I…" His voice died away. Before he could attract any attention, Cassandra lunged at him, sinking her teeth into his throat. As she bit in the flesh, memories of his attack came rushing back and her eyes darkened. She'd make him __**pay**__ for hurting her, for nearly killing her. Tyrone let out a final gurgle before falling to the ground. _Casey's smirk grew as she felt her features returning to normal._ Oh I was good. Tyrone didn't even know what hit him_, she recalled. And that had been sweet-seeing Tyrone's look of horror when he realized that she wasn't dead like he thought she was. It had given her the perfect opening to attack. With a chuckle, she got ready for bed. Though vampires didn't need to sleep, she preferred to. In his own room, Derek had finished his homework and was idly flipping through the pages of his history book. Suddenly, something caught his eye. He blinked and then rubbed his eyes. He had to be seeing things. It was the lateness. He was tired, and his eyes were playing tricks on him. There was no way he was seeing what was before him. However, after looking at the picture several times, there was no denying it. The black and white picture of a young sixteen-year old with long hair and a round-shaped face looked an awful lot like Casey.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Yes, Derek is out of character in that he gets interested in the project, but I had always gotten the feeling that he was smarter than he was letting on, and I wanted to incorporate it. And I'm not an NSYNC fan, but they seemed like a band that would be un-Lizzie like and would be something fun that Edwin could find out about her. The show never really went into full development of what Lizzie and Edwin liked to do, but I could see Edwin liking comics, so I added it here.


	10. Cassandra Part 3

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Twilight Gleek: Thanks, here's more. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Well, hopefully you'll like this chap even though it took so long to get up. Thanks, I'm glad you liked Derek being interested in the Civil War. No, Tyrone was **not** a werewolf. You'll see. Thanks. Sorry this took so long.

Lanakila91: Thank you. I'm glad you liked it. Thanks.

Mahjong90mulan: Thanks, I'm glad you like it so far. Sorry, no. I like it, but I suck at writing it and I'm more of a Sasey fan.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot.

_Whoa. There's no way. I've got to be seeing this wrong_, Derek thought to himself. _I need sleep. That's all_, his thought continued. There was no way the girl in the drawing was actually Casey. Then, he pushed his book aside, changed into some sleepwear, and then got under his covers and fell asleep. Before he knew it, hard rock was waking him up and he quickly got dressed. Meanwhile, in her own room, Casey had also woken up and had gotten dressed. Then, she opened her refrigerator and frowned at the sparseness of bags. _Oh, this isn't good_, she thought. She was getting low on blood. She'd have to find a place to get some more. But how? It wasn't like she could just go to the local blood bank and steal some. She put some blood in a thermos and went downstairs and headed for the kitchen where Nora and George were busy preparing breakfast.

"Good morning, honey. I'll make you a cup of coffee," Nora greeted.

"Thank you," Casey said. George looked at them with some confusion, but said nothing. He had noticed Casey's coffee consumption, but figured she had gotten introduced to it through her father or a friend. Once the beverage was ready, Casey poured herself a cup and began drinking. She smiled as she heard the rest of the family walk in. Then, she got herself some cereal. Despite his best efforts, Derek couldn't help his continual glances at his stepsister. _She really __**does**__ look like that drawing_, he thought. But it was impossible…right? It was just a coincidence. He sighed. He really had to stop thinking about this. He was Derek Venturi for crying out loud. He didn't care about school work or school projects and so what if a drawing in a textbook had some resemblance to his stepsister? It was probably just an ancestor or something. Besides, it had been late when he had seen the drawing, so it had most likely been his eyes playing tricks on him. _Aaaaah! Stop thinking about this!_ Derek berated himself as he got his own breakfast. Edwin watched his older brother through narrowed eyes. Normally, the older boy would've ordered Edwin to get the cereal and pour it into a bowl for him. _He's acting funny. What's he up to?_ he wondered. This had to be a trick of some sort. Get him to let his guard down and then pounce. Yeah, that was completely like Derek. Well, he wasn't going to fall for it. He was sick and tired of always being told what to do. With an inaudible sigh, he also got himself some breakfast, getting Lizzie a bowl as well. He'd have to keep his eye on his brother. He was probably up to something. After they had finished breakfast, Nora ushered the kids into the car and drove them to their schools. As she headed for class, Casey's mind wandered. How and where was she going to get more blood without being found out? _Man, I've gotta figure out something soon. The last thing I need is to lose control and cause trouble for Nora and her family_, she thought to herself. She reached her homeroom and sat down. Hearing approaching footsteps, she turned in her seat and watched as Sam and Emily walked in. She let her eyes linger on Sam. _Man, he's __**so**__ good-looking. Too bad he's human_, she thought to herself. Getting too close to a human could be disastrous for her. She mentally shook her head to clear it and pulled out some of her assignments from the previous day and quickly did a last-minute check. _Okay, yep. I have everything I need and all my work is right_, she thought to herself. Then, she chuckled softly when she found herself imagining the teasing she would get from Damon at her obsessive behavior. Then, the teacher walked in, sat at her desk, and then subtly watched the students as she rummaged through her bag. As usual, some kids were reading, working on homework, or sitting quietly while others were talking with their friends noisily, throwing spitballs, and just generally making nuisances of themselves. _Just once I wish that the whole class would sit quietly and get their work done_, she thought to herself. She had woken up with a headache this morning and didn't need noise from the unruly kids in her class. Not soon enough for her, homeroom was done and they walked out. In Mr. Steiner's history class, Casey took out her paper, which consisted of her and Derek's research. _I have to admit, Derek did pretty well. I think we just need a few more pieces of research and a couple of pictures and we'll be ready for our presentation_, she thought to herself. With the information they had, they were sure to get at least a 'B'. She grinned in pleasure. Things were going to be pretty good this week. Meanwhile, Sam had realized that Derek had been strangely quiet.

"Yo, Derek. What's up with you, man?" Sam wondered.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Derek lied.

"You're not usually so quiet. Did you sleep okay?" Sam responded.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Derek lied again. Sam shot him a look, but decided to drop it for the time being. When Derek was ready to talk, he would. Satisfied that he had gotten his friend to leave him alone, Derek leaned back in his chair. _Thank goodness_, he thought. He wasn't sure if he could've explained thinking he had seen Casey's picture in their history book. Sam would've had him committed for sure. With a sigh, he absently grabbed his history book and started flipping through it. Then, his eyes widened.

"Whoa," he said softly. _It's the same picture from last night_, he thought. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the sketch intensely. _Cassandra Salvatore, 1864_ the words said. "I'm losing it," he mumbled.

"Derek, you okay, man?" Sam asked, hearing the mutter.

"I'm not sure," Derek replied. Sam looked at him in confusion. _What's going on with him? He's been acting weird since homeroom_, he thought to himself. However, he had no chance to ask as Mr. Steiner came in and immediately started the class. As the first pair of partners started giving their presentation, Derek found his mind wandering. Obviously the photo wasn't Casey, but why would one of her ancestors be in their history books? Surely her family tree wasn't **that** exciting. _But then again, what do you really know about her?_ another part of him pointed out. He sighed. _This is too weird_, he thought to himself. He probably just had to ask Nora about it. _I'll do it when I get home. This is driving me crazy_, he thought to himself. He had to put a stop to this before he drove himself nuts. Before he knew it the bell had rung and he headed for his next class while Casey headed for hers. In her class, Casey took notes, trying to pay attention as she thought about ways to get more blood. _Man, this stinks. If Stefan and Damon were here, I wouldn't have this problem_, she thought. But unfortunately, they weren't. Which was the whole problem. _Man! I hate hunters! I hate being away from my brothers!_ She thought to herself, letting out a sigh. She missed them so much. Playing human was hard when she was alone. But she couldn't complain. Nora was awesome and Zack had assured them all she could be trusted. And they all trusted Zack…even Damon. And he hardly trusted anybody. The teacher asked her a question, which she answered correctly, not even missing a beat as she took notes. When it was finally time for lunch, she headed into the cafeteria and got a burrito and hot chocolate. While coffee was better for warming a vampire to the touch, hot chocolate often worked in a pinch. Then, she headed over to a table where Emily was sitting with Sam. They finished their laughter as she sat down.

"So, what's so funny?" Casey wondered.

"Oh, I was just telling him a joke my little brother Dimi told me this morning," Emily answered.

"I like jokes," Casey responded.

"Okay, this dog walks into a bar and says to the bartender, 'I'd like a drink'," Emily began. Casey laughed.

"Oh, wait! I know this one," she stated. "It ends with 'I'm looking for the man-'"

"'Who shot my Paw'," Emily and Sam finished with her.

"That's a cute one," Casey commented. Then, "How's your history report coming?"

"Pretty good, we decided to do research on the age bracket of the soldiers on both sides," Sam answered.

"Wow. That's probably tough to narrow down," Casey said.

"Yeah, but I like a challenge," Sam responded.

"That's a good thing," Casey chuckled.

"So, what's it like being paired up with Derek?" Emily wondered.

"Honestly, not as bad as I thought it'd be. He did some really good research and even added some real insightful thoughts," Casey admitted.

"And that surprises you?" Sam asked, trying to keep the defensiveness out of his voice. _He's not stupid_, he thought to himself.

"After he tried to get me to do all the work, yes,' Casey replied. _Okay, that's fair_, Sam silently allowed. Derek's attempt to pass all the work of the project onto Casey wasn't exactly a score in his favor. Just then, the object of the conversation came up to their table.

"'Sup?" he asked casually, sitting down. Casey rolled her eyes, but greeted him civilly. As they ate lunch, Derek kept glancing at Casey discreetly. _She __**does**__ look an awful lot like that drawing. I wonder how it's possible. An ancestor maybe? _he theorized. It was certainly possible and it was the only thing that made any sense. After all, how else would he explain his stepsister looking like someone in a history book? Then, he shook away his thoughts and continued eating. Why was he obsessing over this? _This is ridiculous! I'm going to make myself crazy!_ He thought to himself. When lunch was finally over, they all went to their separate classes. For Derek, the day seemed to drag on until it was finally three o'clock. When the school day finally ended, Derek, Casey, and Emily went to the MacDonald/Venturi residence. Casey and Emily went to the kitchen while Derek went to the living room to watch t.v. Soon, the sounds of a show were blaring through the walls. _Ow! Vampire ears!_ Casey thought.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," she muttered. "Der-ek! Turn it down!" The only response was for the noise to get louder. With a frustrated growl, Casey stood up.

"Casey, we can just to your room," Emily told her. _The last thing we need is a fight between them_, she thought to herself.

"Fine," Casey sighed. _Sometimes I could __**kill**__ him_, she thought. However, without another word, they gathered up their books and went downstairs. Then, they went over their notes, discussing some of the main points.

"You know, I'm surprised you were freaking out. You know this stuff backwards and forwards," Emily commented after a while.

"Well, the test **is** after the final round of presentations and I **really** want to get a good grade," Casey replied.

"Okay," Emily said. _She needs to relax. She's got this covered_, she thought. Then, she noticed a drawing of a redheaded man in a uniform. "Oh, hey. Check this out," she said, pointing to it. Casey leaned over to look at the drawing, but another one caught her eye. _Oh, dear_, she thought. On the page next to the sketch that Emily had pointed out, was a drawing of her.

.


	11. Cassandra Part 4

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Twilight Gleek: Thanks. Sorry this isn't soon enough. Here's more.

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Yep, I'm back. Thanks for the catch, I corrected it. Thank you. I figured it'd bug him. Read on and see. Sorry this isn't as soon as you'd hoped.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. Sorry the update's not soon enough.

Lanakila91: Thanks. Well, read on and see.

Xtooxcoolxmazzk: Hey, glad you like it.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot. I am looking for someone to create a trailer for this and was wondering if anyone would like to give it a shot?

_Oh, this is bad_, Casey thought to herself. While Emily hadn't pointed out her picture, it **was** right next to the picture of the nobleman that she had pointed out.

"Casey, what is it?" Emily asked. She turned back to her friend.

"Nothing. That's a really good picture," she answered. Then, they went back to studying. As they flipped through their textbooks, Casey stopped on a page. _Whoa. This is a great picture of the house_, she thought to herself, looking at the black and white photo of the Salvatore plantation. _How did our family home get in the history books?_ Casey wondered. For that matter, how did **she** get in the history books? And what was she going to tell people if they saw it? Then, _Okay, don't panic, Case. You can just say it's an ancestor on Nora's side if anyone asks. It's a perfectly logical explanation that anyone would buy_, she thought to herself. And besides, it wasn't like anyone would **actually** notice. What human in this decade actually paid attention to anything they were studying? Emily stared at her friend out of the corner of her eye. _What's up with her?_ she wondered.

"Casey, are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," her friend replied with a bright smile. _Remember, play human. Humans wouldn't freak out about seeing a picture that looked like them in the history books. They either wouldn't care or they would think it was cool_, she reminded herself. Emily looked at her friend. _Why is she acting so weird?_ she wondered. Then, she glanced down at her history book. Her jaw dropped. Next to the picture of the nobleman, was a black and white photo of a young girl with long hair and an oval-shaped face.

"Oh, my-" Emily looked at Casey in surprise. "Casey, this looks like you." Casey leaned over and looked at it.

"Huh. It sure does," she agreed casually. _Play it cool, play it cool_, she reminded herself.

"There's a name-Cassandra Salvatore," Emily noted.

"Salvatore?" Casey repeated. "That was my mom's maiden name. Must be an ancestor," she replied.

"Wow. That's kind of cool. Who would've thought that you'd have an ancestor in the history books?" Emily asked. Casey smiled, but said nothing. When they were finally done studying, Emily gathered up her things, they went back upstairs, and then Emily headed out the door. _ Oh, hopefully she believed me. _ _I'd hate to have to take away her vervain and compel her to believe it_, she thought to herself. As soon as Emily left, Derek jumped up from his chair and grabbed her arm. She glanced at him derisively. _Not a smart thing to do with a vampire_, she thought.

"Can I help you, Derek?" was all she said out loud.

"Look, I don't know why I'm caring, but it's driving me nuts, and I have to know," he began. _Oh, don't tell me he saw that picture too_, she thought.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"There's this picture-it **really** looks like you, but it says 'Cassandra Salvatore' and-"

"Salvatore is my mom's maiden name. It's most likely just an ancestor."

"Thank you! It was driving me nuts!" Casey laughed as he went back to the t.v. _Humans! they're completely strange!_ she thought to herself as she went back to her room to complete her other assignments. When it was time for dinner, she came up to the living room.

"So, kids, how was your day?" Nora queried.

"Pretty good. Derek and I made some really great progress on our report. I have a really good feeling about it," Casey answered.

"That's good," Nora approved, glancing at the vampire subtly. Was she okay? She seemed to be pretty subdued. However, she wouldn't be able to ask with George and his kids around. As they ate, Casey noticed that Nora kept looking at her.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired," she mouthed and the woman nodded. After dinner, the Venturis each went to do their separate thing and Nora met Casey in the kitchen.

"How much blood do you need?" the woman asked.

"Several bags full. But I don't know how to get it here," came the response.

"You just leave that to me. When I first heard that you needed a sanctuary, I went out to make sure that we'd have plenty of contacts. I know where I can get you some sustenance," Nora assured.

"Thank you," Casey said.

"And if you need some blood in a pinch, you can have some of mine," Nora continued.

"Well, let's hope that's not necessary, but thank you," Casey responded. She hugged the woman and then went back to her room. Nora went to the phone and then dialed a number. She waited until it picked up on the other line. Then, "Yes, this is Nora Venturi. I have a Salvatore living with me and they need more animal blood." She listened for a few minutes. "Because if you don't fill in this order, I will use every trick and spell the Bennetts taught the Salvatores to make you physically and emotionally repulsive to everyone and everything you hold dear," she answered. There was a response on the other line. "Thank you. Pleasure doing business with you." With a smile, she hung up. Then, she went about her business. Meanwhile, Derek was in his room, making an outline for his part of the presentation. _I can't believe I'm doing this. What would the guys say if they could see me?_ he wondered. They'd never believe it if he told them that he was actually enjoying the project. Well, Sam **would**, but…he wasn't still sure if he wanted to tell anyone. He kinda liked having something to himself. _Man, I wonder what Mom would say about a project like this_, he thought to himself. She'd certainly be proud that he was working so hard. When he was done, he gathered up his work and went downstairs, where he pounded on the door, which opened to reveal Casey.

"Yes?" she asked, blocking his view of the room.

"This is the outline for my part of the presentation. I'm sure it's not up to your standards, but it's what you're getting," he answered. She shot him a look and took the piece of paper.

"This is good. Great stuff. You have all the key points here. This will be good," she assured as she tried not to make a face. There was that weird smell again feathers and ice mixed in with Derek's smell of fire, thunder, and lighting. _Who is that awful smell?_ she wondered. It had to be someone from school, but she could never pinpoint it to a particular person.

"Really?" he asked in surprise.

"Yeah, don't be so surprised," she answered. "I'm not," she told him. And she wasn't. She had sensed that he wasn't as dumb as he portrayed himself. _But now if I can just figure out who he's hanging around_, she thought. The smell didn't feel dangerous, but it **was** driving her nuts.

"Cool," he said. Then, "Well, I got a date, so…whatever." Casey shook her head with a smile as the boy went back upstairs. In his room, Derek got ready for his date. Then, with a smirk, he flicked his collar up and then turned on his heel and went back down stairs. Hearing the footsteps, Casey sighed briefly. Playing human was tough. _It's too bad Stefan and Damon aren't here. I miss them…especially now that we have this assignment_, she thought to herself. Then, she turned back to her work, turned back to her computer, which she had turned on previously, opened the file with the Civil War assignment, and then added Derek's part of the presentation. _This is going to be good. Definitely 'B' material_, she thought to herself. Then, _What am I thinking? I'm a vampire! I shouldn't care about this!_ With a wry laugh, she shook her head. She just had to let it go. They'd do the presentation and then move on, which was good. Though he had appeared to drop the subject, Derek's curiosity had been piqued once, and she couldn't rule out the likelihood of it being piqued again. _And that could be bad. I can't put Nora's family in danger. I won't_, she thought to herself. Especially not after Nora had been so gracious in taking her in no questions asked. After she was done with the report, she moved on to another subject. When she was finally done, she closed everything out and then went to bed. Before she knew it, the alarm was going off and she got up and quickly got dressed and ready for the day. Then, grabbing one of the few blood packs left, she went downstairs.

"Casey, you're alone. Good," she said.

"What's up?" the vampire asked in surprise as she put the blood in a cup. _There can't be any danger. I would've sensed it_, she thought to herself.

"I ordered you some blood. I should be receiving a call soon. Will you be all right until then?"

"Yeah." Then, footsteps approached, halting further conversation. Casey took a drink as everyone got their own breakfasts and then sat down to eat. Casey took a small drink and focused on her own meal. When everyone was finally done, they got their things and were driven to their respective schools. When Casey and Derek got to Sir John Sparrow High, they each went to meet their friends. Derek sifted through his locker. _I wonder how we're going to do_, he thought to himself.

"Yo Derek, what's up?" Slightly surprised at the voice, Derek jumped.

"Sorry, man. Didn't mean to scare ya," Sam apologized with a chuckle.

"That's all right. I was just thinking 'bout the project. Casey and I have been working pretty hard on it and I hope we get a decent grade," Derek replied.

"You're caring about your grades again. That's good," Sam approved. Derek smiled softly as he grabbed his first textbooks.

"Well, I didn't want her thinking I was dumb," he responded.

"You're not dumb and if anyone says you are, I'll kill their butt," his friend stated and Derek laughed. On the other side of the hall, Casey and Emily were having a similar conversation.

"You know, I have to admit, I was really impressed with some of the insights Derek came up with. There was some stuff in there **I** hadn't even thought of," Casey stated.

"Like?" Emily queried.

"Well, he did some research on the strategies for various battles. It was really cool," Casey answered.

"Well, he's not stupid, Casey."

"I know that! He acts like it sometimes, but I know he's not." Really? Did she really come across as acting as if she thought Derek was stupid? _Wow. I guess I gotta tone some stuff down_, she thought. She wanted to keep the others at arm's length, especially since she was running low on blood, but she hadn't meant for everyone to think that she considered herself better than a person. Then, before she could say anymore, the warning bell rang and they walked to their class. For Derek, homeroom seemed to drag on. He just wanted to get their presentations over with. Finally, they were done with homeroom and the walked to their history class.

"He we go," he said nervously.

"Relax. We are going to rock," his stepsister assured, putting an arm around his shoulders. With that, they took their seats and waited for Mr. Steiner to start the class.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I deliberately chose not to show Casey and Derek's presentation, but rest assured, they got a good grade. And yes, I changed the dynamics of their relationship.


	12. Interlude 2

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Twilight Gleek: Thank you. Here's the next update. Sorry it's not soon enough.

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: No, she's not a witch, she's just made contacts with people who could get blood. Thank you. Sorry, but I felt that the chapter was getting long enough. Yes, it is. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Hana: Thanks, well keep reading and find out. Yes, they would be. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Mahjong90mulan: Thank you. Sorry this isn't soon enough. Yes, they'll eventually make an appearance, but I can't tell you when or it'd ruin the surprise. Lol, yes it will.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot. This takes place halfway through Season 1. I use some of the same dialogue that was in the VD eps "Lost Girls" and "162 Candles".

Nora stared at Casey in surprise. She couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes. I feel that I can trust them and I have Stefan and Damon's permission to tell them everything," the vampire replied from her position on the counter.

"Well, you know better than I do, and if you feel that you can trust Sam and Emily with your secret, then I fully support you," came the response. "Although, I probably couldn't stop you if I wanted to," she added, causing her "daughter" to chuckle. Just then, George came down, halting further conversation.

"Wow. You two look serious. What's going on?" he asked. _Is everything okay? She and Derek haven't been fighting again, have they?_ he wondered. Although, come to think of it, they hadn't been arguing quite as much since they had teamed up for the Civil War project, and when they did, it wasn't as intense.

"Not a thing, George. Everything's fine," Casey assured, hopping off the counter. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed a number. She waited a few minutes as the phone rang. _Come on, come on, come on. Pick up_, she thought.

"Hello?" she finally heard Emily ask.

"Hey, Em. Could you and Sam meet me in front of school before classes start? I've got something to talk to you two about," she said.

"Yeah, that's fine. What's up?"

"Not here. I'll tell you guys at school." George looked at Casey in confusion as she hung up.

"Everything all set?" Nora asked.

"Yep," Casey replied. Just then, Derek, Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti came down.

"You guys ready?" Nora asked.

"Yep," the kids answered and they were on their way. Once Derek and Casey were at Sir John Sparrow High, Casey immediately went in a different direction than Derek. Meanwhile, Sam and Emily were waiting together by a locker.

"Do you have any idea what this is all about?" Sam asked.

"Not a clue," Emily answered. Then, "There she is."

"Casey!" The girl walked up to them.

"Thanks for meeting me. Come on, let's go somewhere private," she said, and lead them to an empty classroom and shut the door.

"You're being really mysterious. You're not like, dying or something, are you?" Emily asked. _'Cause I don't know if I could handle it. She's my best friend, I don't want her to die_, she thought.

"Or have a major disease of some sort?" Sam added. _ She can't die! I haven't even gotten the courage to ask her out yet!_ his mind cried.

"No, I'm not dying and I don't have a major disease," Casey assured with a laugh. _If I was, I'd be dead already_, she thought. "But I am just telling you two. I've known you for a while now, and I feel that I can trust you," she continued. Confused, Sam and Emily looked at their friend.

"What's going on, Casey?" Sam asked.

"Okay, for what I'm about to tell you, you'll have to put aside reality as you know it," Casey told them.

"Um, okay," Emily said.

"Yeah, sure," Sam stated at the same time.

"My name's not Casey MacDonald. It's Cassandra Salvatore," Casey told them.

"Salvatore, as in-" Emily started to ask.

"1864, Civil War, yes," Casey nodded.

"You mean, you're her descendent?" Sam asked and she shook her head.

"No. My name is Cassandra Angelina Salvatore, daughter of Giuseppe Salvatore and sister to Damon and Stefan Salvatore," she answered.

"What?" Sam and Emily chorused.

"I'm a vampire," Casey told them.

"You're a what, now?" Sam asked. _What is she talking about? Has she lost it?_ he wondered.

"Casey, is this a joke?" Emily queried. _Why would Casey play such a weird prank?_ she wondered.

"No joke," Casey replied. Then, she blurred to the other side of the room.

"Whoa!" Sam exclaimed. _That was-I'm not sure_, he thought.

"How'd you-" Emily wondered at the same time. _This can't be happening. It's not possible_, she thought. Their eyes widened as the girl vamped out.

"Whoa," Sam said again.

"Wait a minute. This is impossible. You're walking around in the day," Emily pointed out. Before she knew it, Casey was back in front of her.

"My ring was made out of a lapis lazuli stone and a witch cast a spell that allows me to walk around in the day," she answered.

"Well, when did you become, or change, or-" Emily's voice trailed off.

"I was turned in 1864. I've been sixteen-years old for 141 years," Casey responded. Emily's jaw dropped. _141? She's been around for 141 years?_ she thought.

"So, crosses?" Sam asked.

"Decorative," Casey replied.

"How about garlic?" Emily wondered.

"My brothers and I **love** garlic," Casey answered. "Come on, we don't want to be late," she continued.

"What's the purpose of my wrist cuff?" Sam wondered as they headed towards their homeroom.

"And my bracelet?" Emily added.

"They're both filled with an herb known as vervain. It's toxic to vampires. If we touch it, it burns us, if we ingest it or it gets into our bloodstream, it'll weaken us. It also keeps you from being compelled," Casey replied.

"Holy water?" Sam asked.

"Drinkable, but it tastes nasty," Casey answered.

"And mirrors?" Emily queried.

"Total myth," Casey laughed.

"How do you survive?" Sam questioned.

"Nora MacDonald is one of our descendents. She has contacts that get me the blood I need, which while I'm here is animal blood, which means I'm not as strong as I could be," Casey replied. "Of course it helps that even though she's not a witch, she had the descendents of the Bennett family teach her enough spells and tricks so that she can convince people to get all the blood she needs when the time comes," she added.

"That's cool," Sam stated.

"If you're a vampire, how come you're so warm to the touch?" Emily asked.

"Coffee. I'm not sure why but there's something in it that helps us pass as human" Casey said. "Hot chocolate works in a pinch," she added as they went in. Seeing that other people were following them in, she lowered her voice. "You have to promise you won't tell anyone," she said.

"Not a word," Emily promised.

"You can count on me," Sam pledged at the same time. Then, "I have one last question: how do you control the cravings?"

"Caffeine, or liquor, which tends to lead to a **lot** of lushy vamps." They chuckled, and then changed the subject as the other students walked in.


	13. My Best Friend's Stepsister Part 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. yeah, I figured they'd be the perfect ones for her to confide in. Yeah, well, it just didn't work out that way. Don't worry. They'll get here eventually. I have it all planned out. Guess you'll have to wait and see. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks. Yeah, I figured they'd be perfect confidants and that they would. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Twilight Gleek: Thanks, I'm glad you're still enjoying the fic.

DISCLAIMER

This is my version of "Male Code Blue". LWD belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. VD belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot. As far as I know, they never mentioned Kendra's last name, so I'm making something up. And I'm taking Derek in a different direction than they did on the show.

As Mr. Steiner talked about the Civil Rights movement, Sam found his gaze turning to Casey. _I wonder where she was in the 60s_, he thought. And wherever she was, did she participate in any of the marches? _I wonder what she would've looked like bike then._ _Obviously she looked the same physically, but what persona did she take?_ he wondered. In another seat, Emily's thoughts were similar. _That must've been really cool to see this actually happening. I wonder what Casey thought about all of this_, she thought. As she wrote down key terms, Casey smiled. _Wow. I remember those days_, she thought. Those times had been hard and very chaotic. But on the other hand, they had all been in Texas during that era and it had been beautiful. The bell rang and everyone gathered up their belongings and headed out.

"So, you ready for Mrs. Pendergast's test?" Emily asked.

"Yeah. At least it's not old English," Casey replied, making a face. Emily laughed as Sam and Derek walked past them. Casey's laughter faded and she stared at Sam longingly. Seeing this, Emily nudged her.

"Thinking about Sam again?" she teased.

"Don't be ridiculous, Em," came the response. "He's attractive for a human, but it would never work between us," she continued.

"Why not?" Emily wondered.

"For one, he's Derek's best friend, and he and I have been getting along lately and I don't want to ruin that," Casey answered and then fell silent.

"And?" Emily pressed. Her friend looked around furtively and then lowered her voice.

"I'm 141 years old. I'm **way** too old for him," she answered. Emily shot her a look.

"If you like him, go for it." Meanwhile, Derek and Sam were also talking.

"Man, have you seen Kendra Collins lately? She is looking smoking hot!" Derek raved.

"Yeah, she's pretty…if you go for that sort of thing," Sam said with a shrug. Derek scoffed and shook his head.

"And what do you go for, man?" he wondered. Sam was about to answer when Casey and Emily walked past them. The boys fell silent and Derek shifted on his feet. Casey? He was into **Casey**? Okay, yeah, she was relatively good-looking, but she was his stepsister, and thinking of dating her was kind of gross, no offense to her. "Casey?" he asked out loud.

"Yeah, I know. But I can't help it, man," he replied. Derek rolled his eyes. _What does he see in her? I mean, yeah, we get along, but I don't really see her as a…well, in that way_, he thought. "Look, don't worry. I won't say anything. I mean, it makes you uncomfortable, and she probably wouldn't be into me anyway," Sam added. _She's a vampire that's lived for over a century. What would she see in a sixteen-year old boy? h_e wondered. Derek sighed. He hadn't meant to make Sam feel bad.

"Look man. If you're into her, go for it," he encouraged. _He's my best friend. I want him to be happy_, he thought. And if that meant he dated his stepsister, fine.

"Are you sure? I-I don't want to ruin things between us," Sam stated.

"It's not going to ruin anything. I promise," Derek answered. Sam nodded. _Okay. If he's cool with it_, he thought. On the other hand, would Casey even go for him? He was a kid compared to her. Then, the warning bell for their next class rang and they headed off. The math teacher, Mr. Tanner, glanced at the kids. _Hmm. For once, Mr. Venturi's actually paying attention_, he thought to himself noting that the boy was taking notes. He went on with the lecture. When it was time for lunch, the kids went to the cafeteria. Derek headed for the lunch line. Suddenly, a girl with blonde hair and brown eyes came to stand in front of him.

"Hey, Kendra. What's up?" Derek asked.

"Not much. I'm just stressing about Mrs. Pendergast's English test," Kendra Collins answered.

"It's English. What do you need to know?" Derek wondered.

"See, that's what I say, but my parents said that if came home with one more 'D', they'd make me go to summer school," Kendra replied. Derek grimaced.

"Talk about two words that don't go together."

"I'll say." They laughed and walked closer to the line. Meanwhile, Sam and Emily had just entered the cafeteria, not knowing that Casey was right behind them. She silently stepped into the cafeteria, passed them, and headed for the lunch line. When she got her food, she headed for a table in a back corner. She sat down and started eating. Yeah, she normally sat with Emily and Sam, but this time she felt like sitting alone. It'd give her some time to clear her thoughts and decide what she was going to do about her attraction to Sam. _This is bad. I mean, what am I supposed to do? I can't be falling for a human! I'd be blowing my cover!_ she thought to herself. Maybe it was time for her to move on. She could cast a spell that would make everyone in the house and at school forget that she even existed. _It's risky, but it might be worth it_, she thought. Falling for a human wasn't part of the plan and if she didn't put a stop to things right away, things would fall apart. _And I can't let that happen. Damon, Stefan, and I have worked for so long to keep each other and ourselves safe. I can't get stupid and ruin that_, she thought. She had to be on her game. Someone sitting down in front of her broke the vampire from her thoughts.

"Hey, Casey," the boy greeted.

"Hi, Max," she answered. Max Miller flashed a grin at her and leaned towards the girl.

"So, what do you say you and me go out tonight?"

"Sorry. You're not my type."

"Aw, come on. We can make some memories."

"I said 'You're not my type'. So go back to your girlfriend, devote yourself to her, and never bother me again." Almost immediately, Max's face went slack, he stood up, and walked away. Casey smirked as she resumed eating. She was good. Max would never hit on her or anyone else but his girlfriend ever again. _After the little jolt I just gave him, Amy will have the most attentive boyfriend ever_, the vampire thought to herself. Which wasn't a bad thing. Amy would certainly appreciate it. Casey chuckled. From another side of the cafeteria, Derek, Sam and Emily had seen the whole thing.

"Whoa. Burned," Sam laughed.

"I'll say," Emily chuckled.

"What do you think that was all about?" Derek wondered.

"I've got no idea," the two replied. They all resumed eating. _I wonder what's going on with Casey. She's been acting kind of weird_, Derek thought to himself. Well, **weirder** anyways. He hoped everything okay. Not that he cared, but…oh, who was he kidding? She was family, of course he cared. After she finished her lunch, Casey stood up, grabbed her empty tray, and walked out. Afterwards, she headed for her next class. When she heard the teacher dismiss the class, she walked in. Once the class started, she began taking notes, hardly noticing when the other students walked in.

"Look, the class has barely started and she's taking notes. What a loser," a boy chortled. Casey rolled his eyes. _And humans wonder why we eat them_, she thought. When the boy didn't receive any response to his taunt, he merely sat down with his friends. Then, he smirked. He was gonna get the nerd. He ripped out a sheet of paper, crumpled it into a ball, and then threw it at the back of her head. However, instead of it hitting her, she reached behind her and caught it. Then, with expert precision, she threw it back at him.

"Hey!" he complained, causing the teacher turn around.

"Do I have to ask?" the woman asked.

"His aim just wasn't as good as he thought it was," Casey answered, not even looking up from her notes.

"I see," she said.

"She hit me!" the boy protested.

"You tried to hit her," Kendra said, turning to face him. As she did so, Casey got a whiff of feathers and ice. _So __**she**__'__**s**__ the one that smell belongs to_, Casey thought. Now, if she could only figure out where she had smelled that scent before. _Aw, now that's gonna continue bugging me_, she thought. Then, she mentally shook her head and refocused her attention on the teacher. She just-she just had to focus. _I'm a normal, studious human. I can do this_, she thought to herself. Not that she actually needed what she was learning, seeing how she learned a lot of this stuff centuries ago. When the class was over, Casey gathered up her things and headed out. In the hallway, Sam noticed Casey. _Okay, dude. Here we go_, he coached himself. He walked up to her.

"Hey, Case," Sam greeted.

"Oh, hey, Sam," Casey acknowledged. _What's he doing?_ she wondered

"Hey, look, Casey, can we talk?" Sam asked. _Okay, Sam. Just play it cool. She's just like any other girl…well, you know, except for the whole vampire thing_, he thought.

"Sure," Casey replied and then allowed him to lead her to a private part of the hall.

"Casey, uh-as I'm sure you noticed-I like you, and-" the boy started to say.

"Sam, I like you too," she interrupted. "But we can't be together like that," she told him.

"Why not?" he asked.

"For a lot of reasons. The main reason being that Derek and I have just started to get along and I don't want to mess that up," she answered.

"He's the one who told me to go for it," he told her.

"Really?" she asked in surprise. _Wow. He's more mature than I thought_, she thought to herself.

"Yeah," he answered. She sighed. Talk about making about things harder.

"Sam, I could be your ancestor. It would never work. You belong with a human. It wouldn't be fair to you," she told him.

"But I don't want-"

"I'm sorry, Sam. We can't date." With that, she walked away.

"What-what just happened here?" Sam wondered. Derek and Emily walked up to him.

"So, how'd it go?" Derek wondered, glancing in the direction he had seen her walk off in.

"It didn't," Sam answered glumly.

"What? She turned you down?" Derek asked in surprise.

"That doesn't make sense. I know she's totally into you," Emily told him.

"She said you and her had finally started getting along and she didn't want to ruin it. When I told her that you said to go for it, she said it would never work," Sam answered.

"What?" Derek and Emily chorused. _I can't believe this. She values our friendship that much?_ Derek wondered. _I don't believe this! She likes him! She should've said 'Yes'!_ Emily thought to herself. She knew that the girl liked Sam, so why hadn't she gone for it? _Is it because she's a vampire? Does she not think they'll be a good match or something?_ she wondered.

"Look, do you want me to talk to her?" Derek offered.

"Really? You'd do that?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, you're my best bud," Derek answered. "Look, let me talk to her and tell her that I'm cool with it," he continued and then went after her.

"Casey! Hey, Casey!" he called. She let out a deep sigh and turned to face him.

"What is it, Derek?" she asked.

"I was just talking to Sam. He told me what happened," he said.

"And my reasons stand. I don't want mess up or friendship-any of ours-and it would never work anyways. He just needs to find someone else. Someone better," she answered.

"'Someone better'?" Derek repeated. _What is she talking about?_ he wondered. "Okay, you're a keener, and a bit of a dork-" he began to say and then put a hand to stop her from speaking. "But you're also a great girl and speaking purely from a brotherly perspective, you're a great and fairly attractive girl," he continued. _And I've snapped people's necks for less, but I'm sensing there's a point in here somewhere_, Casey thought. Derek let out a breath.

"Listen, Sam doesn't normally fall for girls. Yeah, he's had a couple of crushes, but nothing like this. He really likes you. Why don't you give him a chance?" Derek suggested. Casey leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"You're a good brother and an even better friend. But I'm sorry. It would never work out between us," Casey answered. Derek watched in confusion as she walked off.

"What's up with her?"


	14. My Best Friend's Stepsister Part 2

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Twilight Gleek: Glad you like it. Here's more.

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. Thanks, I thought it'd be good. Well, read on and see her reasoning. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks. I'm glad you like it. Well, keep on reading to find out.

Hana: Thanks. Well, remember, this is before any of that happens. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Mahjong90mulan: Thanks, I'm glad you like it. Well, then I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed on that front. Hopefully you'll continue reading anyway.

Lanakila91: Thanks. You'll find out eventually.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the idea for the fic.

After school, instead of waiting for Nora to pick them up, Casey opted to head out on her own. As soon as she was sure no one was looking, she blurred out of the school. _What do I do? What do I do?_ she wondered. She had to talk to Nora. What was she supposed to do? She was 141 years old; she wasn't supposed to be crushing on 16-year old boys. Inside the MacDonald/Venturi household, Nora was going over some paperwork in a binder when the door opened.

"Casey? You blurred here?" the woman asked in surprise as she closed the binder. Why was she suddenly using her powers when she had been especially careful to play human?

"We have a problem, Nora," Casey stated.

"What's going on?" Nora asked calmly, yet a bit anxiously. _Well, she's __**not**__ completely freaking out, so it can't be hunters_, she thought.

"Sam likes me," Casey declared.

"Oh, Casey," Nora said. _Okay, not critical, but urgent enough for her to be concerned_, she realized.

"What am I going to do, Nora? I am a 141 year old vampire who is stuck in suburbia without my brothers because a stinkin' hunter tried to drive a stake through my heart! I don't have time for a human with a crush!" Casey exclaimed, pacing in front of the woman.

"Casey, why is this so upsetting to you?" Nora asked. Casey blew out a breath.

"Look, I'm flattered that he's into me, especially with how old I actually am, but what kind of a relationship could we have? I grew up on stuff like Rembrandt and Da Vinci while he's only learning about them in books! I-" the door opened and Casey dashed towards the basement and shut the door. Nora quickly closed the binder and smiled as the rest of the family walked in.

"Where's Casey?" George asked in surprise.

"In her room. She got a different ride home. They took off before you got here," Nora lied. _Yeah, like he'd understand that she was able to get here so fast because she's a vampire_, she thought to herself.

"I would've given her a ride," George stated.

"It just worked out this way," Nora responded. George nodded. Then, he and the rest of the Venturi household went off to do their own thing. In her room, Casey frowned a bit as she listened to the conversation of her family. _I don't believe this. A human! Of all the guys I fall for! It's gotta be a human?_ she thought to herself. What was she thinking? Talk about the perfect way to get herself killed! _Oh, I wish Katherine, Anna, or Pearl were here. They could tell me what to do_, she thought with a silent sigh. Maybe she had stayed here too long. Maybe she should just go. She could write a letter to Nora later. She and Lizzie would understand her leaving and the Venturis, Sam, and Emily would get over it. Then, she sighed. _Oh, who am I kidding? I can't leave. It'd be too suspicious_, she thought. But what was she going to do? There had to be **some** way to dissuade Sam from pursuing her without compelling him. Then, she mentally shook her head and began her homework. Upstairs, Derek was also doing his homework. _Man, I still can't believe I'm getting back into the swing of things_, he thought to himself. It felt good to be working again. He knew his dad had gotten pretty worried. He sighed again as he continued his work. When it was finally done for dinner, the MacDonald and Venturi kids went into the dining room, got themselves a drink, and then sat down. Casey took a large gulp of her soda and then started eating the food on her plate.

"So, kids, how was your day?" Nora questioned.

"Well, some kid at school today had harm and cheese for lunch and then for the rest of the day-" Edwin started to say.

"Ed," George interrupted warningly.

"Sorry," Edwin apologized.

"We played field hockey in phys ed," Lizzie stated.

"And did you kick butt?" Casey asked.

"Of course," Lizzie answered and the girls laughed.

"Casey? How about you? How was your day?" Nora asked.

"It was good, but uneventful. Nothing really exciting happened," Casey answered.

"You mean other than you and Sam dancing around your feelings yet again," Derek commented.

"Der-ek!" Casey exclaimed in annoyance. _How dare he? He has no clue what's going on_, she thought to herself.

"Look, you like him, he likes you, I'm okay with it. Go for it," Derek insisted.

"You're great for saying that, but it's more complicated than you think. I mean, what if it doesn't work out? Things would be really awkward and uncomfortable," Casey stated. _Besides, I'm too old for him and it would never work_, she thought. How come she couldn't get people to see that? And what about her own feelings? She couldn't deny that she definitely felt something when Sam was around. _But what kind of relationship could we have? I'm in hiding! Sure Sam knows I'm a vampire, but could he handle the possibility of facing a hunter?_ she wondered.

"Come on, Casey. Just give it a chance," Derek encouraged. _Why is she being so stubborn? I know she's into Sam_, he thought to himself. _And why doesn't this bother me? I mean, it's my stepsister and my best friend. I should be appalled or mad or something_, his thoughts continued.

"Derek, Casey obviously doesn't want to talk about this, and I must ask that you respect her wishes," George lightly reprimanded.

"Sorry, Casey," Derek apologized.

"Accepted," Casey replied and she continued eating. When dinner was over, Edwin pulled Lizzie into the games closet.

"Okay, is it just me, or was that weird at dinner?" he demanded.

"It was just you," she replied. _I can't believe Casey has a crush though_, she thought.

"Well, it's obvious that Casey likes Sam and that he likes her," Edwin insisted.

"How do you know that?" Lizzie wondered.

"Because whenever he comes over, they sneak glances at each other when they think the other one's not looking," Edwin answered. "You know, I just can't figure out why they haven't come clean to each other yet," he continued. _Uh, because Casey's a vampire who could be Sam's ancestor?_ Lizzie thought to herself, though she didn't say it out loud.

"Look Edwin, Casey's my sister, I know her. And in this situation, she's just going to stand back and not let anything happen," she told her stepbrother.

"Well, then, we'll just have to get her to change her mind," he determined.

"No. Whatever you're thinking…no," came the response. She wasn't about to get on the bad side of a vampire. Talk about suicide.

"But-"

"No." With that, she opened the games closet and walked out. Edwin stared after his stepsister, and then sighed. _Fine. I work best on my own anyways_, he thought and then also walked out of the games closet. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Derek said. He opened the door to reveal Sam. "Hey, man. Come on in," he invited, stepping aside. "You want anything to eat or drink?" he offered, and his friend shook his head. Sam walked into the house and sat down on the couch. "So, what's up?" he asked.

"It's Casey," he said.

"Yeah, I don't get it, man. We all know you like each other, and I told her I was okay with you guys, and…she still won't make a move," his friend stated. In the basement, Casey was silent as she listened to them talk. _Why is he pressing this? Sam knows we can't be together. It'd never work_, she thought to herself. As they continued talking, Casey silently went upstairs and into the kitchen. She then got herself a cup, got some ice. In the living room, the two boys looked towards the kitchen.

"Is Casey in the kitchen?" Sam asked.

"Well, it could be Edwin, Lizzie, or Marti," Derek replied. "But whoever it is, they're being pretty quiet," he continued. _That's __**gotta**__ be Casey_, Sam thought to himself.

"I'll check it out," he offered. He then walked into the kitchen. "Hey, Case," he greeted.

"Hi, Sam," she acknowledged. "Can I get you or Derek anything?" she questioned, pouring her drink into the glass.

"Nah, we're cool," he replied.

"All right," she said, and then began making herself a snack.

"Listen Case, we need to talk," Sam said.

"About what?" Casey asked.

"You know what," Sam stated.

"Sam, it's just a crush. If we just stand back and stay away from each other, these feelings will fade and you'll a nice human girl who can appreciate you for who you are," Casey replied.

"Is that what this is about? Me being human?" Sam asked, stepping closer, allowing Casey to get an overpowering whiff of his scent. _Man, I love his smell. Musty, dank, and a bit of ash wood_, she thought to herself. Then, _No! I've gotta focus!_ she continued.

"Sam," she said.

"Look, I know I'm really young and most likely less exciting than a lot of guys you've met, but I really like you," Sam told her.

"I like you too, but us being together is a bad idea," Casey told him.

"Why? Why is it a bad idea? What makes us a bad idea? Besides you being what you are," Sam wondered.

"It's not the worth the risk," Casey told him.

"Is that what you think? That I would betray you?" Sam asked, barely remembering to keep his voice down. "I would **never** betray you," he continued, placing his hands on her shoulders. Casey could feel her resolve melting. She loved the feeling of his hands on her shoulders. However, she forced herself to shrug his hands away.

"Sam, that's not what I meant. I know you would **never** betray me. That's not it at all," she assured.

"Then what?" he pressed. She fell silent. _How can I tell him? He'd never understand_, she thought to herself. "Casey-Cassandra-" she looked at him in surprise at the sound of her real name. _Wow. My name sounds good on his lips_, she thought. "You can tell me anything. Anything and I'll be here for you," he told her. Casey looked at him.

"You want to know why I'm here, Sam?" she asked softly enough that Derek couldn't overhear, but that Sam could.

"I'm assuming because you were in danger," Sam said.

"Yeah, that's right. But you have no idea how much danger," Casey replied. "Sam, I'm not going to risk you getting hurt because you're involved with me," she continued.

"Don't you think that should be my choice?" Sam shot back.

"No. I'm sorry, but no," Casey answered. "I nearly died because of a group of hunters. They killed the family we were staying with, they nearly killed me. There's no way I'm going to risk-" Casey's objections got cut off by Sam cupping her face with his hands, tilting her chin up, and then kissing her passionately.


	15. My Best Friend's Stepsister Part 3

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thank you, that has been fixed. No, that'd be creepy. Sorry. No, it's not his style in this reality. What do you mean by that? Thanks, here you go. Sorry it's not soon enough.

Ookami Sakura: Thanks, sorry this isn't soon enough.

Twilight Gleek: Thanks, sorry this isn't soon enough.

Mahjong90mulan: Oh, sorry, but I suck at writing Dasey, though I do enjoy it. Yay! I haven't lost you! Thanks, glad you think so.

DISCLAIMER

Yeah, I know this chap is a bit shorter than the others, but that's just how it ended up. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot and subplots. Casey's diary is in bold.

Casey melted into the kiss. _Sam, Sam, Sam_, she thought. Then, her common sense kicked in and she pushed Sam away.

"Are you crazy? I have killed people for less," she hissed.

"I'm not afraid. I will protect you from anyone who tries to hurt you," he said. _Come on Casey. Don't fight your feelings_, he thought to himself.

"I told you: this won't work between us," she responded. "You know how old I really am," she said. _This is crazy! What if hunters come? They could kill him in order to get to me_, she thought frantically.

"I don't care about that. I just want to be with you," he stated, putting a hand on her cheek. _Why is she being so stubborn? We both like each other, there's no problem here_, he thought. Casey looked down. Then, she looked back up.

"I want to be with you too," she admitted. Sam's heart leapt. _Yes! Now we're getting somewhere! _ he thought happily.

"I'd like to give this a shot," Sam stated. _This sounds like it's about to happen_, he thought to himself. Casey let out a sigh. _I'm sorry, Sam. I know this is going to hurt_, she thought.

"I like you too. But I'm sorry. I'm not going to risk it. I have my descendents to think about. They are risking **so** much for me and I cannot make them risk any more than they already have," she told him. She put a hand on his cheek and smiled at him sadly. "I'm sorry," she said and then hurried back down to her room.

"Case-" he said, heading after her. However, when he got to her room, he found it locked. _Okay. I won't press this_, he thought to himself. If she didn't want to talk, he wasn't about to force her. He walked away and went back upstairs to the living room where Derek was.

"Misfire?" he asked.

"Complete misfire," came the confirmation.

"I don't get it. We both know that she's into you," Derek said. _She knows I'm okay with it. Not that she needs permission, but what's stopping her?_ he wondered. Maybe he should talk to her. After all, he didn't want her staying away from Sam on account of him. Sam sighed.

"Yeah, but I'm not going to press it," he stated. "I mean, what good would the relationship be if I have to force it?" Derek nodded. That was a valid point.

"Yeah, I hear ya," he said. Then, "Come on, man. Let's go out and play some street hockey."

"Yeah, I could use a distraction." They went upstairs to Derek's room, got the equipment they needed, and then went outside. Soon, they were playing furiously in the streets. In her room, Casey was writing in her diary and listening to classical music on her c.d. walkman. She smiled to herself as the music crescendo-ed. _Man, I miss music like this._ _Such emotion…such passion. The composers really put their hearts and souls into their music_, she thought to herself. One of the good things about growing up in the early nineteenth century was being taught to appreciate good music. She, herself, had grown fond of anything in Italian, due to their heritage, something that had pleased their father to no end. She began humming the stanza and tapping her feet to the music. Presently, she became aware of someone knocking.

"Come in!" she called, taking off her headphones and turning to face the door. Lizzie walked in.

"So, how come you won't admit you like Sam?" the younger girl questioned.

"Were you eavesdropping?"

"Hey, I've got eyes." Casey rolled her eyes and decided to take that as a 'yes'. "So…how come you won't admit it?"

"Because it would never work between us and I have you and Nora to think about. I'm in hiding and if I have to suddenly leave, he'd be one more person I would have to make sure didn't get hurt. It's not worth it." Lizzie shook her head. _For a vampire that's over one hundred years old, she's acting really dumb_, she thought to herself. However, she wasn't about to say so.

"Casey, you like each other. Go for it," she urged.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" the older girl wondered.

"Uh…because you should?" came the quip. Casey rolled her eyes again. "Listen Casey, I get that you want to protect him, but you should also have some fun too. Stefan and Damon would want you to." Casey bit her bottom lip. _Maybe Lizzie's right. Maybe I __**should**__ take a chance_, she thought. She ran her fingers through her hair. But would Stefan and Damon say? Would they tell her that it was too dangerous? _Maybe I should talk to them. Or maybe Katherine, Anna, or Peal_, she thought. "Just think about it, okay?" Lizzie suggested, and then went back upstairs. Casey once again turned on her bed, grabbed her phone, and then dialed a number. Casey frowned as she waited as the phone rang. _Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on_, she thought impatiently.

"Hello?" a female voice asked almost immediately.

"I need some advice. It's about a boy."

"A boy huh? Human or otherwise?"

"Human."

"A little dicier, but still doable. Does he know about you?"

"Yeah, it's the guy I told."

"So, what's the problem?"

"I'm 141 years old! And I'm in hiding! Wouldn't starting a relationship defeat the whole purpose?"

"Cassandra, we're all in hiding, but we haven't been staked. If you like the boy, go for it."

"What about Stefan and Damon? What would they say?"

"The exact same thing as me. Now just talk to the boy!" The other girl laughed and then hung up. _Well, there's no arguing with Katherine_, Casey thought to herself. She'd have to have another talk with Sam when the time was right. Then, she turned back to her diary to read what she had written.

** Dear Diary, I ****still**** don't know what to do! Everyone says I should go for it, but what if a hunter appears? I can't risk Sam getting hurt. **

Casey sighed and continued reading until she got to her latest entry.

** Maybe I should talk to Sam. It's not like he doesn't know what I am. And he seems to understand how dangerous it could be. Heck, he even promised that he'd protect me. Not many boys in this era would make such a vow. He makes me feel almost human again…**

Casey re-read the last line and smiled softly. It was true. Sam **did** have that effect on her. Hearing footsteps upstairs, she closed her diary and headed up just in time to see Derek and Sam walk back in.

"Hey guys. Tough game?" she asked.

"Yep," the boys chorused.

"Sam, could I talk to you?" Casey requested.

"Sure," Sam answered.

"I'll leave you guys alone," Derek said and walked upstairs to his room. Sam and Casey sat on the couch.

"I-I'd like-to explain-if I could…" Casey stammered. _ Okay, play it cool, Cassandra. You can do this_, she silently coached herself.

"Go ahead," Sam invited.

"I was scared. I'm not used to being without my brothers or our friends. I haven't really been sure who to let in. I mean, it took me a long time to let you and Emily in. Not-not because you tried to hurt me or anything, but I had just been attacked, and I was really on edge-" Casey inhaled and exhaled sharply. "The point is: I shouldn't have taken so long to see what was right in front of me. I just-I was thinking: 'What if I'm attacked again and then attack you guys too? I don't know what I would do if you, Emily, and the others were attacked or hurt because of me. I would never forgive myself," she told him. Sam put a hand on her cheek.

"I can understand everything you're saying. And you're right…there **is** that risk," he agreed. "But I'm willing to take the risk…if you are."

"I'm willing." They leaned in closer to each other and kissed softly and gingerly.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

This concludes Season 1. Next chapter will begin Season 2.


	16. Protector Part 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thank you. Yes, she would've. Katherine is with Damon. Here's more and the start of Season 2.

Twilight Gleek: Thanks I'm glad you're enjoying it. Here's more.

DISCLAIMER

This starts Season 2 of "Adventures Of The Youngest Salvatore" and is a rewrite of "Middle Manic". Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot. You can thank Season 2 of Vampire Diaries for the idea of who to use for the other vampire.

Sam and Casey walked into the entrance of Sir John Sparrow Thompson High hand-in-hand with Derek and Emily close behind them.

"Man, it's good to be back in school, even though the break was too short," Casey stated. Sam chuckled.

"I hear that," he agreed. They grinned and Derek and Emily rolled their eyes.

"You'd think they were married or something," Emily whispered to Derek, who nodded and laughed in agreement. _Wow. I can't believe I'm laughing and joking with Derek. A year ago, he barely knew I was alive_, Emily thought to herself. She couldn't believe the change in the boy. True, his bad attitude of the last year had stemmed from his parents' divorce, but even before then, he had barely acknowledged her.

"I heard that," Casey stated. Before Emily could respond, Kendra pushed past them.

"Hey!" Emily exclaimed. However, the girl didn't apologize like she normally would've. Casey frowned. Kendra smelled weirder than usual. True, the feathers and ice scent was a bit revolting, but she had never felt dangerous, so Casey had left the girl alone. However, there was a new smell: a powerful smell. It was faint though, like it had just arrived. _What's that smell? And where do I know it from?_ Casey wondered. Even the feather and ice scent seemed familiar. _Why can't I place it? I've checked all my journals which don't say anything, and I've even asked the others_, she thought to herself. The warning bell cut her musings short and she headed to homeroom, where she made quick checks of her schoolwork, correcting anything that needed to be corrected and then organizing the work into different folders. Beside her, Derek was also making a quick check of his work; although his check was just to make sure he **had** his work.

"Hey, wait a minute. Where's my history report?" he wondered suddenly. _I know I had it!_ he thought. However, a look in his files soon proved futile. "This cannot be happening! I worked all break on this!" he exclaimed. As Derek's search became more frantic, Casey rechecked her files. At first, she also had no luck. _Wait a minute. My miscellaneous file_, she recalled. She went to the file and sure enough, was the history paper.

"Derek, I've got it," she told him.

"Huh? Why do **you** have it?" he wondered.

"Because I saw that you left it on the kitchen table and grabbed it," she answered, handing the paper to him.

"Thanks, Sis. You're a lifesaver," he said.

"No problem, Bro," she responded. Sam and Emily looked at each other and laughed.

"They **do** sound like brother and sister, don't they?" Emily asked.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. Just then, the teacher came in and went to her desk as other students trickled in. Sam tapped her on the shoulder and she turned to him.

"Hey, you wanna go out this Friday?" he asked.

"Sure. Where to?" she asked.

"It's a surprise," he answered with a grin.

"I like surprises," she told him. Emily smiled and shook her head. After homeroom, they went to history.

"Hey, where's Mr. Steiner?" Emily wondered, looking around as other students came in.

"Yeah, he's usually here by now," Sam stated.

"Who knows?" Derek replied. Just then, Casey heard strong footsteps and a smell of Earth, whiskey, and smoke hit her nostrils. _What the-?_ she wondered. She knew that smell, but it was impossible. Everyone turned as the door opened. To their surprise, a Caucasian man who was 5'11 with chestnut hair and hazel eyes walked into the classroom. Casey's eyes widened. _What's he doing here?_ she wondered. The man looked at Casey and then smirked at the smoldering glare she gave him. _Hmmm._ _Well, this was unexpected, but who am I to complain?_ he thought. Sam and Emily looked to Casey, the man who walked in, and back to Casey.

"Case, what is it? Do you know him?" Sam whispered.

"Yeah," Casey answered shortly. The abrupt tone told Sam and Emily not to press the issue and they wisely dropped the subject. They sat down and looked at the man.

"Who are you?" Derek asked.

"The substitute, Mr. Williams," the man answered in a curt voice. "So, what do you do here?" he asked.

"We have papers to turn in," came the response.

"Very well. I'll collect them at once," the man answered.

"Where's Mr. Steiner?" Casey asked as the other kids pulled out their papers and handed them to the man, who glared at her.

"He's ill," the man replied. _Yes, I bet. What is he doing here?_ she wondered. The man glanced at her. _One of the Salvatores. And she's all alone. How perfect_, he thought to himself. But he'd have to tread softly. There was no need to tip his hand. Besides, if Cassandra Salvatore was the only vampire in town, he could have some fun here. After all, she was no match for him. She never had been. After the papers were handed in, the students settled in their seats. The man walked up to Casey and held out his hand, waiting for her paper. She handed it to him, allowing her true features to show for only a moment as she hissed only loud enough for them to hear. He smirked at her. He bent down and placed his lips next to her ear.

"Careful, Miss Salvatore. You don't want to blow your cover," he cautioned in a tone that only she could hear. Then, he straightened up, went to the desk, looked at the lesson plan, and then began a lecture. Casey bit her bottom lip worriedly. _This is bad. This is bad. What do I do?_ she wondered. This was a pretty old vampire. She couldn't stop him by herself. However, it looked like she was going to have to. When the class was finally over, they all gathered up their belongings and headed out.

"Miss MacDonald, may I speak with you?" the substitute requested. Sam, Emily, and Derek looked at her in concern. Casey nodded, indicating that she'd be all right. The three walked out. As soon as the other students were gone, Casey locked the door, let her true features show and blurred over, knocking the man against the wall as she placed his hand over her throat. He snarled and did the same. They stood at a standstill for a few moments, and then each let the other go.

"Nice to see you haven't lost your touch," the man smirked.

"What are you doing here, Elijah?" Casey snapped.

"Now, now. Is that the way to speak to me?" Elijah chided.

"I came here because of hunters, and if you try to ruin anything for me, and if you go near my friends and family, I will decapitate you. I'm sure **that** will at least slow you down," she snarled. Elijah smirked again. _Such passion_, he thought.

"I forgot how passionate you could be, Cassandra," Elijah commented, stepping closer to her. He put his hand on her hair and stroked it. "No wonder we were so good together," he continued. _Casey and Elijah slammed against a wall, kissing passionately._ Eyes blazing, Casey reached up and slapped him.

"So help me, Elijah…if you cause trouble, you'll see how passionate I can get," she snarled. Then, she turned on her heel, walked up to the door, unlocked it, and then, walked out. Elijah chuckled to himself. _Yes, things are going to get very interesting_, he thought. Then, he walked out. Meanwhile, Casey had entered the lunch room and was getting a meal of her own. When she got all the food she wanted, she headed to the table Sam, Emily, and Derek were sitting.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Sam asked in concern.

"Yeah," Casey replied.

"So, what'd Mr. Williams want?" Emily wondered.

"Nothing," Casey responded. There was no way that she was going to tell them about Elijah. At the curt tone, Sam and Emily fell silent. Derek looked at them in confusion. _Why's Casey getting so bothered about a sub?_ he wondered. This wasn't the first time he had noticed Casey's strange behavior, or Sam and Emily acting all weird. However, whenever he had asked Sam about it, he had always brushed him off. Meanwhile, at her own table, Kendra was chatting with some of her friends.

"I can**not** believe how attentive Max has been to me," Amy Saunders raved.

"And to think he used to flirt with anything that could walk or talk," Kendra said.

"I know. I am **loving** this new attitude," Amy gushed. Presently, a boy walked up to them.

"Hey, Jake," another of the cheerleaders greeted flirtatiously. Jake leaned in front of Kendra and gave her a dazzling smile. The girl merely rolled her eyes. _I don't need this_, she thought.

"So Kendra, what do you say you and me go to Make Out Point tonight and make some memories?" he leered.

"Excuse me?" Kendra asked angrily. _What kind of a girl does he think I am?_ she wondered, her eyes flashing.

"You heard me. We could have a good time," Jake repeated, taking her hand. _She's going to feel so flattered, she'll agree to anything_, he thought.

"Yeah, as if I call sucking face with a guy I barely know fun," Kendra responded, yanking out of his grasp. _This guy is getting on my nerves_, she thought. She could feel something growing inside of her, but she wasn't sure what. It was a feeling that she had been getting over the past few days, and Jake was just causing whatever it was to explode.

"Really! As if she's that type of girl!" Amy added. _What a jerk!_ she thought to herself.

"Look Collins, I'm going to lay this out: every girl in this school would **kill** to be seen on my arm. Now I want you. You and me can have a good time together, so just do yourself a favor and say 'Yes'," Jake snarled, getting in her face. He yelled in surprise as her cup of soda suddenly flew through the air and first splashed Jake, and then hit him in the face. Hearing the commotion, Derek, Casey, Sam, and Emily turned in their seats to see Jake push himself away from the cheerleader table and stomp off.

"What happened there?" Emily wondered.

"Jake obviously made a nuisance of himself…as usual," Casey replied with a roll of her eyes. _That boy is a disgrace to his species_, she thought to herself. He was one boy that if Elijah decided to kill him, she was almost certain she wouldn't stop him. Elijah. She frowned. What was his game? Why was he here? He obviously had a plan of some sort, but he would never reveal it. Casey knew full well that Elijah liked to keep things close to the vest. So, whatever he had in mind, he wasn't going to be sharing any time soon, which meant that she would have to tread **very** softly. She sighed to herself. After finishing her lunch, she stood up and walked out. After that, her classes seemed to drag on. Every spare moment she got after that, she raced to check on the following history classes, to make sure the students were okay before dashing off to her own class. After hearing another whoosh, Elijah smiled to himself. This was working out better than he thought. Cassandra was so worked up; she was practically using her vampire powers to check up on him. At the end of the day, after dismissing his final class, he walked out, glancing at Casey and her friends and then smirking at her, earning a low growl that only the two of them could hear. Then, he walked away. Meanwhile, at her locker, Kendra was putting her books in her locker as her mind replayed the incident with Jake. _How'd I do that with my soda? What's happening to me?_ she wondered. Was she turning into some sort of freak? She could just imagine the kind of gossip that would occur if she was. Her reverie was broken by Jake's sudden appearance at her locker.

"How'd you do it?" he demanded.

"Do what?" Kendra asked.

"That trick with your drink. How'd you do it?" Jake pressed.

"I-I don't know. But you deserved it. You were bugging me," Kendra answered.

"You better apologize," Jake sneered, grabbing her wrist.

"Let go of me," Kendra stated, her voice rising. Hearing this, various students turned around.

"Oh, that doesn't look good," Ralph noted. _What a Neanderthal. I would __**never**__ act like that_, he thought to himself. Almost as if they were thinking as one, Casey, Emily, Sam, Derek, and Ralph all headed for Kendra's locker.

"You're going to apologize to me…**now**," Jake growled. To everyone's surprise, Kendra's locker suddenly flew backwards, hitting Jake in the face!


	17. Protector Part 2

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Supernatural-Dark-Angel: Guess you'll just have to read on and see. Yeah, I almost made it a hunter, but decided Elijah would be more fun. Well, I thought it'd be something new.

DISCLAIMER

LWD belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot and characters you don't recognize.

Kendra stared in surprise. _What the heck? How'd I do that?_ she wondered.

"You freak! What did you do!" Jake yelled.

"I-I don't know!" Kendra exclaimed, her voice shaking slightly. Casey made her way through the crowd. _Oh, man. __**Now**__ I remember where I smelled that scent before! Didn't anyone tell Kendra her heritage?_ she asked herself.

"Kendra, come with me," she said, grabbing her wrist.

"Wha-" Kendra's question trailed off as Casey quickly pulled her away and headed for a more private part of the halls.

"What's your mother's maiden name?" she asked.

"What?" the other girl asked in surprise. _What does she want to know that for?_ she wondered.

"What's your mom's maiden name?" Casey prompted again.

"Wainwright," Kendra answered. _What's the big deal? I don't get it_, she thought. Casey nodded. _ I thought so_, she thought.

"You're a descendent of Regina Wainwright aren't you?" Casey queried.

"Yeah!" Kendra confirmed. "How'd you know that?" she asked. Casey blew out a breath. _I don't believe this! No one's even explained to her about her heritage and she's fifteen, which is when powers generally first manifest!_ she thought in irritation.

"Listen, we need to talk, but...not here. We should go someplace private," Casey told her.

"Yeah, okay," Kendra agreed. They walked towards the exit of the school. Seeing the two walking together, Derek frowned. _When are they so buddy-buddy?_ he wondered. He looked to Sam questioningly.

"What's up with Casey?" he asked.

"I don't know, man," came the response. _Does it have something with her being a vampire?_ he asked himself. Kendra followed Casey to the parking lot.

"How long have these types of things been happening?" Casey asked softly.

"What types of things?" Kendra questioned, trying to play it cool. Casey sighed and gave the girl a look.

"The cup of soda, and the locker…I know you did 'em," she stated. Kendra let out her own sigh.

"But I don't know **how** I did those things? I-I don't want to be a freak," she said, her voice breaking.

"You're not a freak. You're just coming into your powers," Casey told her.

"Powers?" Kendra asked blankly. _What is she talking about?_ she wondered. _I don't believe this! Were her parents really this irresponsible?_ Casey thought. Didn't they realize how dangerous it was to not tell a young witch about her heritage?

"Kendra, what do you know about Regina Wainwright?" she asked out loud.

"That she was crazy. She thought she was a witch. She was placed in an insane asylum in 1932, disappeared after two years, and after that…no one knows," came the response. Casey shook her head.

"Is that what your parents told you about her?" she asked.

"Well, yeah," the other girl responded.

"That's so far from the truth," Casey said. "Regina Wainwright was amazing. Not only was she extremely powerful, but she was kind and loyal. She never hurt anybody, unless they hurt her first," she continued.

"Casey, you're talking like you knew her personally," Kendra commented.

"That's because I did," Casey answered. Then, "Have you been having strange dreams? Dreams where you know everyone even though you've never seen them before?"

"Sure, everyone does," Kendra answered.

"True, but have you ever felt like you're connected to them?" Casey pressed.

" Yeah! But I don't know why!" Kendra replied. _What is going on? What is she talking about?_ she wondered.

"It's because of your heritage," Casey stated.

"My heritage?" Kendra repeated.

"You're a witch," Casey told her.

"I'm a what?" Kendra asked in disbelief. _ Is she crazy? There's no such thing as witches_, she thought to herself.

"You're a Wainwright Witch. One of the most powerful witch families, second only to the Bennetts," Casey answered. Kendra stammered, unsure of what to say. _A witch? A witch?_ she wondered to herself. Casey was talking weird. And yet, it kind of made sense. The dreams, the strange rush of power she kept feeling, the incident with the cup of soda, and now this thing with her locker…it all made sense. But why hadn't her parents said anything? _Why wouldn't they tell me?_ she wondered.

"My-my parents-they never told me any of this," Kendra stammered.

"And I'm going to find out why they reacted so irresponsibly. You need to learn about your powers. You need to be trained," Casey stated. _How could they be so stupid? Especially with Elijah here! He could kill her without even batting an eye!_ she thought to herself.

"Well, they'll be here soon. You can come over," Kendra invited.

"Thanks," Casey said with a smile. Then, they went to the parking lot and waited until the girl's parents showed up.

"Hey, Mom, Dad. This is Casey. Could she come over for a few hours?" Kendra requested.

"Of course, Kendra. That will be just fine," Victoria Collins replied.

"Great. I'll call them when I get there," Casey grinned. Roger Collins gave her a polite smile, but otherwise said nothing. She and Kendra got in the back seat. Once they were buckled, Mrs. Collins restarted the car and drove off. Derek stared at the departing car in surprise. _Why's Casey going off with Kendra and her family?_ he wondered. And what had they been talking about? Just then, he noticed Nora's car pulling into the parking lot and walked up to her.

"Hi, Derek. Good day today?" the woman asked.

"Yeah," he answered, getting into the car.

"Where's Casey?" she wondered.

"She went to Kendra Collins' house. I don't know why she didn't ask your permission," he answered.

"You worry about yourself," was all the woman said and then drove off, unaware that a black car was following them. Then, they went to the elementary school, picked up Edwin, and Lizzie and then went home. As he kept his distance, Elijah smirked. They were perfect for his little-game with Cassandra. But he couldn't move just yet. He wanted to make Cassandra squirm a bit. He chuckled, backed up, and then turned around and drove off. He'd have plenty of time to mess with her later. He had what he wanted for now. Inside, George was working at the living room table when the others came in.

"Hey, guys," he greeted. Then, "Where's Casey?"

"She went to the house of a classmate," Nora answered.

"You let her go without asking permission?" he asked in surprise. _Why would she do that?_ he wondered.

"I assumed it was last minute and for school," Nora replied. George frowned in confusion, but didn't press it. Derek, Edwin, and Marti looked at the woman in surprise. Why did she sound nonchalant? Then, Marti began tugging on Derek's arm and dragged him upstairs and Lizzie and Edwin went to their own rooms to do homework. Meanwhile, at Kendra's house, everyone had sat in the living room.

"Mom, Dad, I invited Casey here because I think she can help me with what's been going on with me," Kendra stated.

"Going on with you?" Roger repeated.

"Kendra, darling, whatever do you mean?" Victoria queried. _We're a perfectly normal family_, she thought to herself.

"You know **exactly** what I'm talking about! I told you! I've been feeling strange, I've been having strange dreams, and I can do things! **Weird** things!" Kendra burst out.

"Kendra, not this again," Victoria huffed in disapproval. _Honestly, if she keeps this up, people are going to be talking again_, she thought. And that was the last thing this family needed. "Darling, we've told you. You're perfectly normal girl," she insisted.

"Who is just coming into her witch powers! How come you haven't trained her? Prepared her?" Casey demanded, jumping up.

"Because there is n such thing as witches, young lady. And if you believe this kind of nonsense, I don't want you hanging around my daughter," Victoria haughtily stated.

"The witches in this family have been a great ally to me and I will not stand idly by while you leave Kendra unprotected!" Casey exclaimed, her eyes flashing.

"Now you see here!" Roger boomed.

"No, you see! Kendra can be very powerful, just like Regina! And if you won't train her, I will," Casey told them.

"As I understand it, Regina Wainwright was insane and an embarrassment to her entire family," Roger continued in a snooty voice. Casey let out a laugh.

"Oh, my gosh. You're in complete denial of you're heritage! You're ashamed of Regina and her legacy," she stated with realization. "Well then, there's only one thing left to do," she said. Kendra looked at Casey in surprise. What was she talking about? "I'll be taking care of Kendra's training. I'll teach her all about her heritage and how to use her powers. I may not be a witch myself but I've been around many and can certainly teach her everything she needs to know," she continued. Kendra nodded. If something **was** going on, she wanted to be prepared.

"That sounds good to me," she agreed.

"Kendra, I don't want you to have anything to do with this nonsense," Victoria stated. _Honestly, doesn't Kendra realize how crazy she sounds? Our family barely survived the previous scandal. We don't need this kind of trash again_, she thought. Kendra huffed. _ I don't believe this. They're just going to act like nothing's happening? I can feel it in my veins. It's not fair to me!_ she thought to herself.

"I'm a witch, Mom. I've felt the power, and unlike you and Dad, I'm not going to deny who I am," she said.

"Mr. and Mrs. Collins, would you please give Kendra and me a ride back to my place?" Casey requested.

"I don't think

"Yes, they will," Kendra interrupted, fixing her parents with a glare.

"Fine," Victoria sighed. "I'll take her," she said. The three stood up and went out to the car and got in. The woman started the car and Casey gave directions to the MacDonald/Venturi home. When they got there, Kendra and Casey got out of the car and walked into the house.

"Casey, is this a friend of yours?" George asked.

"George, this is Kendra Collins. She and I need to talk in my room," Casey replied. Then, the girls went down to the basement.

"A basement?" Kendra asked in surprise as Casey turned on the light. _Why would she be in a basement? And what's with the refrigerator?_ she wondered. "Casey?" she questioned.

"I suppose you're wondering how and why I knew so much about the Wainwright legacy," the other girl said.

"Yeah, you could say that," came the response.

"Take my hand, and you'll know. You'll know instinctively," Casey told her. Hesitantly, Kendra did as she was told. To her surprise, her mind was instantly filled with images of Casey in different time periods and sensations from the girl. However, the sensations didn't scare her. In fact, they calmed her down. Kendra dropped her hand.

"You're a-a-a-a-a vampire," she gasped.

"That's right. I'm a vampire," came the confirmation.

"And you let me touch you even though you knew what I was?" she asked. Casey nodded.

"We only do that with people we feel that we can trust," she told her.

"And you're trusting me?" Kendra asked softly. _I can't believe it. Why would she trust me?_ she wondered.

"Of course," Casey replied. "And I hope you feel that you can trust me," she continued.

"I don't really have a choice, I-I mean, you know what's happening to me, and I don't," came the response. She sighed. _I can't believe this is happening_, she thought to herself. Then, "Will you-will you teach me how to harness my powers?"

"I can teach you what I know, but eventually; I'll have to find another witch or a warlock to train you properly." Kendra nodded.

"That's fine. As long as I can get a handle on this."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure you're prepared for anything." Casey took Kendra's hand and squeezed it. At the surge of power that emitted from Casey, Kendra nodded. This was good. She'd be okay. She could feel it.


	18. Protector Part 3

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Lol, glad I could oblige. Thank you. Oh, yeah, I thought it'd be fun to write. Yep. Well, I even surprised myself with what I wrote, so…yeah. Sorry this isn't soon enough. Well, keep reading. (Read on and see).

Twilight Gleek: Thanks. I'm glad you're still enjoying the fic. Here's more.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks, I'm glad you're liking it so far. Here's more.

DISCLAIMER

Okay, technically, this fic is on hiatus due to the fact that me and my family are in the process of moving, but I had already been working on the chap and I got inspired. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and The CW. I only own the plot. I skipped to the next day to move the story along.

Early the next morning, Kendra and Casey met at school and then went to the gym and sat on the stage, where the Casey pulled out several of her earrings.

"Okay, we're going to start with a basic levitating spell," Casey stated, spreading the earrings out in front of them. "Now, as you use your powers, you'll feel a bit of a twinge, but don't be alarmed. It's perfectly normal," she continued. Kendra bit her bottom lip. _I don't know if I can do this_, she thought to herself.

"If you're feeling nervous, we can do this another time," Casey answered.

"No, no! Let's get this over with," Kendra answered. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Okay, what you want to do is just imagine the earrings floating. See them in the air." _I hope that doesn't sound stupid._ _Emily would've said that so much better than I just did_, Casey thought, thinking of the young witch that had stuck by Katherine. In her mind's eye, Kendra envisioned the earrings floating. Then, there was a rattling sound. Casey watched as the earrings began to shake. _Well, that's a start_, she thought to herself. Then, one-by-one, the jewelry floated into the air. Yes! She's doing it! Casey thought to herself, but kept quiet, not wanting to break the girl's concentration. Casey watched the gold and silver pieces floating in a circle. Presently, Kendra opened her eyes. To her surprise, the earrings were floating in the air. _I'm doing this_, she thought in pleased surprise. _Then, I-I'm doing this. Oh, my gosh! I'm doing this!_ With a frightened cry, she stood up and the jewelry came crashing down.

"Kendra?" Casey asked, also standing up.

"No! No! This isn't real! I couldn't have been doing this!" Kendra exclaimed. _Oh, boy. She's freaking out_, Casey realized.

"Kendra, it's okay," she said out loud, standing up.

"Okay? Okay!" the girl repeated, her voice rising. "Casey, I'm a freak!" she exclaimed.

"No, you're not," the vampire told her.

"Look, th-thanks for helping me, but I can't deal with this right now," she stuttered and then ran off. _Well, __**that**__ went swimmingly_, Casey sarcastically thought. She bent down, picked up the earrings, and headed for homeroom. _Great. What am I supposed to do? If Elijah finds out that Kendra's a witch-an inexperienced one at that-he won't even think twice about killing her_, she worried. How was she supposed to protect everyone on her own? _Maybe I should call for help. I mean…Elijah's pretty hard core_, she thought. But on the other hand, would it endanger her brothers and the others? _I can't take that chance_, she decided. She'd have to handle this on her own. In the homeroom, she mentally ran ways she could protect the others on her own, but she couldn't come up with anything satisfactory. When homeroom was finally over, she went to her next class. Her lips curled into a silent snarl when she saw Elijah. Apparently whatever compulsion he had put on Mr. Steiner was still in effect. _This is not good_, she thought to herself. However, she kept silent as she took her seat and took out a notebook and a pen.

"Where's Mr. Steiner?" Emily asked.

"Mr. Steiner is still ill, but I'm sure he'll feel better in a few days," Elijah replied. _Yes, and by that time, Cassandra will be mine once again and most of these pathetic humans will be dead_, he thought to himself. He grinned at the fond remembrance. _Cassandra was quite fun when she turned off her emotions. So ruthless and destructive. I loved it_, he recalled. But then it had come crashing down when she had "come to her senses" as she put it. As Elijah started his lecture, Casey began taking notes. She had to play student just like Elijah had to play teacher. _I've __**got**__ to find out what he did to Steiner_, Casey determined. Hopefully the man hadn't been killed, though she wouldn't put it past the older vampire to have done so. Out of the corner of his eye, Sam kept a subtle eye on his girlfriend. Was she okay? She obviously knew their substitute, but how? Where had they met? Emily bit her lip as she glanced at Casey. _She seems so nervous. If something's spooking __**her**__, how are __**we**__ supposed to deal with it?_ she wondered. Then, she refocused on taking notes so that she wouldn't draw attention to herself. In her own class, Kendra's mind was racing with what she had done earlier that morning. _I can't-I can't believe this. I mean, I-I guess I'm a witch, but levitating the earrings like that…it was just too much_, she thought. Being a witch sounded cool when you were reading about it, but to actually be one and to have powers…it was pretty scary. Maybe that was part of the reason why her parents had kept her heritage a secret. But now that she knew what she was, how could she turn away from that? _Man, I wish I knew what to do_, Kendra thought to herself. When it was finally lunchtime, the girl gathered up her belongings and headed out the door. In her own class, Casey was also gathering up her things, and headed for the door.

"Miss MacDonald, may I have a word with you?" Elijah requested. Casey let out an inaudible sigh and turned around.

"Case?" Sam asked in concern, as he, Derek, and Emily stopped.

"I'll be fine. Go," Casey ordered. Derek frowned. He wasn't sure if he liked the idea of leaving Casey with this substitute. There was something…**unsettling** about this guy.

"You sure?" Emily checked.

"Go," Casey ordered again, and reluctantly, the trio walked out. Then, she charged at Elijah and pinned him to the wall. "I'll ask you again, Elijah: why are you here?" she demanded. The man chuckled.

"Oh, such fire, Cassandra," he smirked. Her eyes flashed and she dug her nails into his throat.

"Tell me now, or I will hurt you," she threatened.

"Hurt me? Not end me?" Elijah queried.

"Elijah!" Casey growled. Despite the situation, Elijah felt amused. Such spunk. It was what had drawn him to her in the first place.

"It's simple, Cassandra. I heard you were here, and where you are, Katerina is usually found," Elijah answered, removing her hands from his throat.

"You **really** think I'd betray Katherine?" Casey demanded. _Not that I even know where she is, but still, he's known me how long?_ she thought to herself.

"Come now, Cassandra. Don't you remember how we used to be?" Elijah asked, reaching out to caress her cheek. She growled and knocked the hand away.

"Nice try, Elijah. But you know I can't be compelled. None of the **old** tricks work on me," she spat out in Italian. "And it kills you all. That's the **only** reason you charmed me into falling for you," she continued in the same language. _I can't believe I was stupid enough to fall for him in the first place. He and the other Originals only wanted to figure out why I couldn't be touched by any vampire or witch powers_, she thought. Elijah's face twisted in pain.

"Is that what you think? That I lied to you?" he asked, also in Italian. _What? How can she think that?_ he wondered.

"You ratted us out to Klaus! He nearly killed us! He nearly killed **Katerina**! And I owe my existence to her!" she responded. The pain on Elijah's face deepened. He remembered the night she had revealed her entrance to the vampire world to him. _Elijah and Cassandra walked through the town, the moon shining above._

"_So, how did you become one of us?" Elijah queried. Cassandra's face darkened and she turned away._

"_Cassandra?" Elijah asked._

"_I was attacked by a local boy, Tyrone Lockwood. I came-__**very**__ close to dying…in fact, I __**did**__ die. But thanks to a friend, I was turned," she answered. He put her hands on her shoulders._

"_I'll never let anyone hurt you like that again," he promised._

"Cassandra, I-" he began, but she stepped back.

"I gave you my heart and you betrayed me," she interrupted in Italian. Then, switching back to English, "If you think for a **minute** that I'm going to let you survive another day here, you have another think coming." Without warning, she slashed his throat with her nails, and kicked him across the room. Then, she went to the door, unlocked it, and walked out.

"Ow," he said, rubbing his throat. _I forgot how vicious she could be_, he thought. Instead of heading towards the cafeteria, Casey went to the entrance of the school, running into Derek.

"Hey Casey, you missed lunch," he said.

"I'm not feeling well. I'm going home," she responded.

"**You**'**re** going to skip school? You really **must** be sick," he said in concern. "You want me to take you home?" he asked.

"You're sweet, but no thank you," she responded. "Just…look after Sam and Emily the rest of the day. Protect them, and don't leave them alone," she continued, her pupils widening. Derek nodded.

"I'm going to protect Sam and Emily. I won't leave them alone," he repeated in a monotone.

"Good," Casey approved, and then walked off. Once she was sure she was out of sight of anybody at school, she raced home. Then, she went into the basement and rummaged around her room. _Okay, okay. I gotta-gotta slow him down_, she thought to herself. If Elijah was sticking around, Klaus would most likely be on his way, so if she could just slow Elijah down a bit, maybe she could think of a way to deal with them without getting anyone hurt or killed. One thing was for sure, she couldn't let any of the other Originals get this close. Meanwhile, Elijah had also left school grounds and had returned to the house that he was residing in. _What am I going to do? I didn't even know Cassandra was in this school!_ he thought as he paced back and forth. Though he had acted like he had come here to mess with her, it couldn't have been further from the truth. However, he didn't blame her for seeing him as a threat. She was right: he **had** betrayed her and her friends to Klaus. But she didn't know that he **had** to do it. He couldn't go up against up against Klaus. It was the curse of being a vampire's childe: they had complete and utter control over the one they sired, though for some reason, Cassandra seemed to be unaffected by that as well. _Which is good for her_, he mused. From what he remembered after five hundred years, Katerina could be rather mischievous when she wanted to be. Suddenly, he heard something outside. He froze. Who was here? It couldn't be one of the other Originals, could it? None of them had a day-walking ring. Heck, he had had more than enough trouble getting to and from the school himself, and had even gotten a bit singed. And besides, no one, not even Klaus, knew he was here. But then again, Klaus was **excellent** at finding people he wanted to find. The noise came again and Elijah tensed. Then, his door was kicked down!

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Okay, I will admit, the idea of Casey not being affected by vampire powers came from Twilight which belongs to Stephanie Myers. Given the fact that Originals can compel other vampires, I thought it'd be interesting if there was someone who wasn't affected by them.


	19. Protector Part 4

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Yeah, well, I wanted to make it more realistic. Like, she'd be interested, and then when it was really happening, she'd freak out. Sorry, they don't show up quite yet. I have everything planned out though. Like I said in a PM, I didn't work out Nora giving the Venturis vervain because I couldn't think of a way for her to do it without hurting Casey. Well, you'll see. Just keep on reading. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Dean Winchesters Bay Girl: Thanks. Well, she wasn't expecting it to be so real, and in typical teenager fashion, she freaked. Well, she didn't compel him to do anything bad. She just needed extra insurance that her families and friends would be protected.

Hana: Thanks. Well, we're still in the process of getting the house ready to be staged, so…here's the next chap. Hope you enjoy.

Xtooxcoolxmaazzx: Sorry this isn't soon enough, thanks. Hope you like this chap.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot and the characters you don't recognize.

Elijah growled when he saw the male vampire.

"Hello, Elijah," he greeted. He was short and stocky with brunette hair and gray eyes.

"Marcus," the other vampire snarled. _What is he doing here?_ he wondered.

"What? Not happy to see an old friend?" Marcus taunted.

"You're no friend of mine," Elijah retorted. _This is bad! This is bad!_ he thought to himself. Without warning, Marcus lunged at Elijah, who flipped the attacking vampire over his shoulders. Elijah then launched his own attack, and soon, the two vampires were a blur as they continued to fight. Finally, the fight ended with Elijah pinning Marcus to the ground by holding his throat with his hand.

"You've gotten stronger," Marcus noted with a grin.

"What are you doing here?" Elijah demanded. Marcus chuckled.

"I heard that this was the perfect feeding ground for us," he answered.

"Well, you heard wrong," Elijah told him. _If Cassandra thinks __**I**__'__**m**__ dangerous, she wouldn't want to meet Marcus_, he thought.

"So, what are **you** doing here?" Marcus asked.

"That's none of your business," Elijah replied. "I'm going to warn you once, Marcus-get out. Never return," he continued. Marcus laughed.

"**You**'**re** going to warn **me**?" Then, with lightning speed, their situations were reversed.

"You forget, I'm older and stronger," he sneered. Elijah snarled and once again managed to get the upper hand.

"Only by a year," came the response. Unnoticed by Elijah, Marcus reached into his pocket. Then, a shot went off! Elijah let out a pained scream as fell back to the ground and writhed. _Wood bullets_, he thought as he stared up the vampire who was holding a small pistol.

"**Don**'**t** get in my way, boy," Marcus warned.

"Klaus won't find what he's looking for here," Elijah said. Marcus laughed.

"Klaus? Who said anything about Klaus? I came alone." _Alone? He's acting by himself?_ Elijah asked himself. That was bad. If Klaus was losing control of other Originals, it would mean a large-scale war. Elijah watched as Marcus walked out of the house, shutting the door. A few minutes later, Ray Steiner came in.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I got shot," Elijah answered, as he took out the bullet.

"Shot? By who?" Ray questioned in alarm.

"The person who is after Casey MacDonald," Elijah answered.

"Well, what are you going to do? I mean, you're the officer," Ray reminded.

"Don't worry. She'll be protected," Elijah promised. _I can't believe that my lie has now become reality_, he thought to himself. But a rogue Original could be dangerous for everyone. Ray nodded and then went back to his bedroom while Elijah went to the guestroom. Elijah's eyes clouded. He had to figure out what to do. _Man! I wish the sun would just go down already! I really need to talk to Cassandra!_ he thought to himself. Should he risk the sun once more? Sure, the sunglasses helped, but he still had to be careful. Mornings were no problem; he just headed out when it was still dark. He frowned. _It's worth the risk. I can't let Cassandra get hurt_, he decided. He then walked up to his dresser, picked up his sunglasses, put them on, and then walked out, entered his car, started the engine, and then drove off, following the girl's scent. Within moments, he was at the MacDonald/Venturi household. Inside the house, Casey had been doing her homework when suddenly she froze. The smell of Earth, whiskey, and smoke had just hit her nostrils. Instinctively, she blurred out of her room.

"Casey, wha-" Nora's question died off as the girl hurried out the door.

"What's going on?" George asked, coming out of the kitchen. Nora shrugged. _Must be vampire business_, she thought. Outside, Casey hurried towards the car as it pulled to a stop. Elijah watched as the girl came speeding towards him, fully vamped out.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Cassandra!" Elijah began as he stepped out of the car. Before he could stop her, she lunged at him. With a grunt, he landed on the ground. _Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!_ her thoughts raged. Almost as if she had been taken over, she was kicking, punching, and clawing at Elijah. She couldn't let him get away. She couldn't let him live. He'd kill them all. Her claws scratched his neck.

"Will you stop? Stop it!" he exclaimed. However, she paid him no heed. With a snarl, he flipped the girl over and pinned her to the ground. "Cassandra, I came to warn you," he stated, holding her tightly.

"What?" Casey asked. _What kind of game is he playing at?_ she wondered.

"There's another original here-Marcus," Elijah told her.

"So Klaus **is** here," Casey realized. _I gotta get out of here!_ she thought and tried to get free. As if sensing what was on her mind, the other vampire tightened his grip.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, Cassandra," he said. "Klaus is **not** here."

"It's gone rogue?"

"Yes, which means he's even more dangerous." Casey looked at Elijah. His eyes were wide, he was vamped out, and his scent was extremely strong, indicating that he was spooked. _That's bad. Elijah doesn't scare easily. Whatever's going on must be big_, she thought to herself. Inside the house, George looked out at the driveway.

"Nora, call the police! Casey's fighting with someone," he stated.

"Has he hurt her?" Nora queried, earning her a strange look from her husband. What the heck kind of a question was that? It was an intruder, of course he had probably hurt Casey. making a decision, he headed for the phone, only to have Nora grab his arm. Confused, he looked at her as she shook her head at him. Outside, Casey and Elijah had stood up.

"Why should I believe that you want to help me?" Casey demanded.

"Because even though I messed things up between us, I still care about you," Elijah replied, putting a hand on her cheek. _Gosh, she's as beautiful as ever_, he thought to himself. Casey hissed and knocked his hand down.

"I'll work with you, Elijah, but keep your hands off of me," she snapped. Elijah sighed and nodded. He'd have to accept that.

"So, what do we do?" Casey asked.

"Be on your guard. I'll keep in touch," Elijah responded. Then, he got into his car, started it, and left as Casey went back inside.

"Casey, are you all right? Who was that man?" George asked in concern, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm all right, George. It's none of your concern," Casey responded, moving out of his embrace. _Sorry George. But I can't tell you the truth. You'd never understand and would probably get yourself killed_, she thought.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Nora stared at the girl. _It must be a vampire thing_, she deduced. Nora watched as Casey went down to her bedroom. Then, she reached under her bed and pulled out a trunk. Then, she opened the trunk and pulled out a couple of journals and began perusing through the pages of one. _Now, what did Katherine say about Originals?_ she wondered, using her friend's. She had to refresh her memory so that she could protect the house. She wasn't about to trust Elijah anymore than she had to. She frowned as she quickly read through it. _Nothing_, she thought to herself. Then, she put it aside and started reading through that one. After a while, she pursed her lips thoughtfully. Though the journal made some mention of Originals, there wasn't very much information on them. She continued reading through the journal, her frown deepening. _I can't believe there's nothing here_, she thought. This didn't make sense. Sure Katherine had been tight-lipped about certain things, but she had always made sure that they all knew what kind of danger they were facing. When she finished, she rummaged around the trunk some more until she found a few more journals. Then, she proceeded to look through them rapidly, tossing one aside when she was done. Moments later, just she finished the last journal, she heard someone coming down the stairs. She hurriedly put the journals in the trunk, closed it, and then shoved it under her bed. There was a knock on her door and she quickly headed up the stairs to the door.

"Yeah?" she asked, opening the door to see Edwin.

"Dinner," Edwin answered.

"Kay, I'll be right there," Casey told him. He nodded and headed back upstairs. She then went to the refrigerator and pulled out a blood bag. Then, she took out a dark cup and poured the blood into it. Then, she went upstairs, where she got some cranberry juice and some in, and shook the glass gently, mixing it around. Then, she took her seat.

"Casey, who was that man outside?" George asked.

"No one you need to concern yourself about," Casey responded, taking a drink out of her cup. _Okay, that means it's vampire business_, Nora realized.

"Casey, I don't want to pry into your affairs, but are you going to need help?" the woman asked.

"No. Thanks, Mom," Casey replied. Then, she focused her attention on her food, effectively closing the conversation. Meanwhile, at her own house, Kendra was in her room, pacing. _Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! I can't believe I did that with the earrings!_ she thought to herself. When she had agreed to meet with Casey, she thought it'd be kinda cool, and maybe just a little more informative with Casey giving her a background on Regina. But to actually levitate something-she hadn't expected that. _She must think I'm a big wimp and I'll have to figure everything out on my own_, she thought. It was obvious that her parents would be no help. Then, she left her room, and went to the living room, where the family tree albums were, and began perusing through them. She'd figure this out on her own if it was the last thing she did. Later that night, at Ray Steiner's house, Elijah was gathering up all the supplies he'd need. _This is bad. I have to stop Marcus. I can't let anything happen to this place_, he thought. He **especially** couldn't let anything happen to Cassandra. Then, Ray Steiner walked in.

"Officer, what is going on?" he asked.

"Things have escalated, and I have to move quickly if I'm going to protect Miss MacDonald," came the response.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" the man questioned.

"Just stay here. And **don**'**t** let anyone in," the vampire told him. Ray nodded. Though he didn't understand the instruction, he'd follow it. After all, the man **was** an officer of the law. Once Elijah was fully equipped, he went outside and started out. While all of this was going on, Marcus was prowling around, looking for a meal. He needed to hunt. Then, something hit his nostrils. _Ah, yes. Perfect prey_, he thought. Then, with a terrible grin, he zeroed in on his target. Hearing something, the girl froze. What had that been?

"Hello?" she asked. There was nothing but silence. "Is someone there?" she queried. Again, there was only silence. Then, something quickly came at her. She screamed. Then-all was quiet.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Well, **this** one is gonna be longer than I expected. Sorry. And I'm aware some of the transitions are choppy, and I apologize for that.


	20. Protector Part 5

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thanks, yep. Sorry, but that wasn't in the cards. No, it wasn't, but you won't find out who his victim was until the next chap. Here's more. Sorry it took so long.

KougaSesshomaruAnime: Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. Sorry this update wasn't soon enough.

A Smiling Cat: Thanks, I'm glad. We'll see. Keep reading and find out. Sorry this took so long.

DISCLAIMER

Sorry this took so long. We're still in the process of getting things out of the house so we can move in a few months. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot and the characters you don't recognize. I don't know the address of the MacDonald/Venturi residence, so I made something up.

Later that night, a Caucasian woman in a blue sedan was made her way towards Toronto. She was 5'8 with long blondish-brown hair and green eyes and was wearing a gray t-shirt and blue jeans. The phone rang and she answered it.

"Yes?" she asked, revealing an English accent. Then, "Yes, I'm heading there now. From what I gather, the Original went rogue." She listened for a few minutes. Then, "Yes, I understand. Cassandra, her family, and her friends **will** be protected." Then, she hung up. Once she got closer to Toronto, she began looking for landmarks. She needed to get to Cassandra quickly. Seeing sites that she had been told about, she continued down the road. She wasn't surprised that Katerina knew where Cassandra was or the alias she was using. She just always had a way of knowing these types of things. Now she just had to find the girl herself. As she drove down the street, she kept a lookout for the house address. Finally, she saw the address: 2157 Jenkins Street. _Ah! Here we go!_ she thought to herself. She parked the car and then walked up to the door and knocked. Then, the smell of earth and lightning hit her nostrils as heard footsteps approaching the door. _Who's that? That's not Cassandra_, she thought. The door opened to reveal an eleven-year old boy.

"Can I help you?" he asked suspiciously.

"Yes, I'm a friend of Casey MacDonald's," the woman replied, revealing an English accent.

"You're a friend of hers?" he repeated. _She looks too old to know Casey._ _What's she playing at?_ he wondered. The woman had to fight to keep the smile off of her face at the fierce protectiveness she heard in his voice. _I don't blame him. I look like I'm in my twenties_, she thought. Then, she heard a door from downstairs opening and footsteps approached. Then, a familiar smell hit the woman's nostrils: the scent of a hurricane and lightning. _Cassandra_, the woman thought and waited until the girl came into view.

"Rose?" Casey asked. _I thought I smelled someone familiar_, she thought to herself. She had been in her room when the whiff of steel and lace had invaded her senses.

"Casey," Rose Laramie greeted. _Well, if Casey really does know her, I suppose she's okay_," Edwin thought to himself.

"Well, come on in," Edwin invited, opening the door wider and stepping aside. Rose smiled and walked into the house.

"Come on. We can talk in my room," Casey said and then led Rose down to the basement.

"You're in a basement?" Rose asked. _Why on Earth would Cassandra allow herself to be placed in here?_ she wondered.

"It's close enough to the family, but far away enough where the blood doesn't affect me," Casey answered. _Ah, so it was her choice_, she thought.

"That makes sense," Rose answered. And it did. It was never easy being the only vampire in a household full of humans.

"You've been around five hundred years and you **still** use an English accent," Casey said, shaking her head.

"What? It works," Rose shrugged.

"Yeah, I suppose," Casey said. Then, "Now, not that I'm unhappy to see you, but what are you doing here?"

"Katerina was worried. Some of her sources said that they saw Elijah going in this direction," Rose answered.

"Yeah, he's here," Casey confirmed.

"Are you all right? Has he hurt you?" Rose asked in concern. _If he has, I'll rip him to pieces_, she added to herself.

"No, he hasn't hurt me. I think something big's going down though."

"What do you mean?"

"Elijah did mention something about a rogue Original on the loose and he wants to help me take care of it."

"You believe him?"

"I am inclined to. He sure was agitated by **something**." Rose frowned. Cassandra was more anxious than she was letting on. She only reverted back to her original, formal speech when she was upset or agitated.

"Well, you don't need to fret, Cassandra. I'm here to help." As she said this, Rose put a comforting hand on Casey's wrist. Casey smiled. Cassandra. Oh, it felt **good** to hear her real name. Everyone here knew her merely as Casey.

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"I'm going to find a hotel. It'd be less suspicious." Casey nodded. That made sense.

"Cassandra, who are your allies here?" Rose asked.

"Nora, Elijah, and two of my friends, Sam Richards and Emily Davids," Casey replied. "Nora's husband and children don't know what I am, and I'd like to keep it that way," she continued.

"Of course," the older vampire nodded.

"There is one other thing I was hoping you could help me with."

"What's that?"

"I recently discovered that a classmate of mine, Kendra Collins, is a descendent of Regina Wainwright and her parents have **completely** ignored their responsibility in preparing her. They view Regina as an embarrassment and Kendra is completely lost."

"Is she receptive to the powers?"

"She is, but she's also a bit frightened." Rose nodded. That made sense. It was hard enough coming into your powers when you **did** know your history, but if you were left in the dark, it was more than a bit overwhelming.

"Of course I'll help." Casey nodded. That was good. Something told her that she was going to need it. "I have to get going, but I will see you later." Casey nodded again and the two went back upstairs. As Rose headed for the door, Derek, who was sitting on the couch watching t.v., looked up, when he heard the ensuing goodbyes. _Whoa! She's gorgeous!_ he thought to himself.

"Hey, uh, I'm Derek," he said, jumping up and turning to her. "Are-you a friend of Nora's?" he queried.

"Casey's, actually," Rose answered. They quickly shook hands. "Like I said Casey, I must be off. We'll talk later," she continued.

"Right," Casey nodded and Derek watched as the older woman walked out of the door.

"So, she was hot," he commented. Casey let out a laughing scoff and shook her head.

"She's too much woman for you, Derek," she told him. "I'm going to bed," she continued and then went back to her bedroom. She looked her door and then went to her bed, where she pulled out a trunk and began rummaging through it. _Okay, what can I use here?_ she wondered. She had to fully equip herself. She didn't have Damon and Stefan here to help her. _Maybe I should call them. I know they'd be here in an instant if I asked them to_, her thought continued. But could she really run the risk of them getting hurt? _No. I can't. I __**won't**__. Katherine's already risking so much by sending in Rose. I won't risk getting my brothers killed_, she decided. With that, she intensified her rummaging. In the living room, Derek's mind raced as he thought of the woman who had been visiting his stepsister. _Man, she was really hot_, he thought to himself. She was **definitely** worth getting to know better. _I wonder how she knows Casey_, his thought continued. They didn't really seem like they would have anything in common. He frowned, unable to get his mind off of the woman. Meanwhile, at her own house, Kendra paced back and forth in her room. _Oh, I can't believe I levitated the earrings_, she thought. Then, _I can't believe I freaked out on Casey like that. She probably thinks I'm a complete lunatic_. Kendra blew out a breath and ran her fingers through her hair. What was she supposed to do? Her parents were absolutely no help. They were just convinced that Regina was a disgrace to the family. It was obvious that if she decided to embrace her heritage, she'd have to do it alone or with Casey. _This is just terrific. How am I supposed to make a decision like that?_ she wondered. A knock at the door broke through her reverie.

"Come in," she said and the door opened to reveal her father. "What's up, Dad?" she wondered.

"Are you all right, Kendra? You seemed distracted when you came home from school," Roger commented.

"I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind," Kendra replied.

"Tough day at school?" Roger asked sympathetically.

"No, it was pretty normal…except I freaked out on Casey when she was helping me with a spell," Kendra answered.

"A spell?" Roger repeated. _Oh, dear. I better nip this in the bud_, he thought. "Kendra, Darling, you're not actually buying into this nonsense, are you?" he queried.

"Well, I-I don't know," Kendra answered with a shrug. He sighed.

"Darling, you have to remember that Regina was insane. You don't want to end up like her," he warned. Kendra's eyes narrowed. Was he threatening her? As if reading her thoughts, the man gave her an embarrassed look. "I'm sorry, Honey. I didn't mean it like that. Your mother and I are just worried about you," he continued. Kendra nodded, but didn't respond. Her father looked at her, and then walked out. He then went into his and his wife's bedroom.

"Darling, I'm worried about Kendra," he announced.

"Why? What's wrong?" she asked.

"She appears to be taking after Regina." Victoria frowned. That was the last thing the family needed. _If Kendra starts acting insane, we'd have to commit her to avoid disgrace. I can't believe she's doing this to us_, she thought. It was bad enough having a legacy like Regina's. She didn't want people thinking that insanity ran in the family. After all, they had an image to uphold. _Well, whatever it takes, I'll make sure Kendra doesn't do anything foolish_, she vowed. The decision made, she went to bed. The next morning, the two woke up, got dressed, and then went downstairs to the kitchen and began making breakfast. In her room, Kendra groaned as her alarm clock activated and rock filled her room. Reaching out a hand, she turned the clock off, got out of bed, and then got dressed. Then, she went downstairs to the kitchen.

"Perfect timing, Sweetie," Victoria told her daughter as she set the plates out and Roger brought the food to the table. The three then sat down and began eating. After breakfast, Kendra gathered up her things, got into her car, started the engine, and then drove to school. When she got there, she headed into the building and headed for homeroom, where she opened up a notebook and began doodling, keeping half of her attention on the door. Presently, it opened and Kendra turned to see, Sam, Emily, Derek, and Casey.

"Hey, guys," she greeted. "Casey, over here," she continued, gesturing to the seat next to her. Casey sat down next to Kendra as Sam, Emily, and Derek found seats of their own. Kendra leaned forward.

"Casey, um, I'm really sorry about the other day," Kendra began in a low tone. Casey stopped the apology with a shake of her head.

"Don't worry about it," she assured.

"But I totally freaked out on you," the other girl protested.

"And I don't blame you. You're dealing with something pretty major pretty much on your own here," the vampire responded. Then, "There's someone older than me who I believe can help you with your powers…if you're willing."

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll introduce you to her tonight." Kendra looked at Casey in confusion. _Why tonight? Why not after school?_ she wondered. Seeing the look of confusion on her face, Casey smiled softly.

"She's a vampire like me, but has no way to walk about in the sun," she explained and Kendra nodded. Derek, Sam, and Emily glanced at the two who were talking in low tones.

"What do you think **that**'**s** about?" Derek wondered. Sam and Emily shrugged. _It's probably something to do with Casey being a vampire_, Sam thought. Though, he wasn't sure why she had told Kendra. Emily stared at the two girls who were whispering quietly. _I wonder what's up between them_, she thought. Whatever it was, it was obviously something secret. _I wish she felt like she could trust me_, she thought again. Derek watched as Kendra and Casey talked. _I wonder what's going on. Kendra looks kinda freaked_, he thought. Well, whatever it was, it seemed to involve Casey. _Why is it that whenever my friends are going through something they go to Casey and not me?_ he wondered. It just didn't make sense. After homeroom was over, they headed for history. Casey's brows furrowed as she entered the empty classroom. Where was Elijah? He was usually here before anyone else.

"Hey, where's Mr. Williams?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," Casey replied. Despite herself, she felt herself becoming concerned at Elijah's absence. _I don't like this. Something's wrong. I can feel it_, she thought to herself. Suddenly, a smell hit her nostrils: Earth, whiskey, and smoke. _Elijah_, she thought in relief. Then, she was hit with another scent: fire and flesh. _That's-that's not part of his smell_, she realized and ran towards the direction of presence.

"What is she-" Sam's question died off as he, Emily, and Derek followed her down the hall. To their surprise, the front entrance burst open and their substitute teacher burst in, a large blanket over his body.

"ELIJAH!" Casey screamed in horror, lunging towards him. The door slammed shut as she covered his body with hers. The rest of Sir John Sparrow Thompson High stared at the two in shock. What was going on?

AUTHOR'S NOTE

The showdown will happen in the next chapter.


	21. Protector Part 6

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Well, what can I say? I liked her. Well, I have a small little subplot for them that I hope you like. Oh, I know, right? Well, just keep reading and see. Yeah, sorry this was kinda long, but hopefully, it's worth the wait.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks, I'm glad you like it. Well, keep reading and see. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Hana: Glad you like it. Here's more.

Xtooxcoolxmazzx: Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Lanakila91: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. I'm glad the incorporation of Elijah fit. Yeah, like I told you, I had forgotten about that, so I worked in an explanation.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot.

The students of Sir John Sparrow Thompson High gasped when they heard Casey scream the man's name and then lunge at him. Elijah grunted as Casey put out the remnants of fire on his body. _What is going on? The sun's never affected him before,_ she wondered.

"Elijah, Elijah, talk to me," Casey murmured in Italian, helping him sit up.

"I'm all right, I'm all right," he assured in the same language.

"What happened? Why are you being affected by the sun?"

"Marcus. Once he broke away from the Order, Klaus fixed it so that he could no longer walk around in the sun. And then Marcus copied the spell and placed it on me." Sam watched as Casey gently checked their substitute teacher before helping him to his feet. _What is going on? Why does she sound so frightened? Why is she being so familiar with him? And what language is that?_ he wondered. Did it have anything to do with her being a vampire? Casey stared up at Elijah and she felt herself stiffen at his worried countenance.

"What are we going to do?" she asked in Italian.

"I don't know, Cassandra," he replied.

"We should go."

"Yeah." To their surprise, the two headed out.

"Hey, whoa. Where do you think you're going?" Sam asked, getting in front of them.

"You, Kendra, and Emily-" Casey began in Italian. Then, she closed her eyes. _They won't know what you're saying_, she reminded herself and she reopened her eyes. "You and Emily need to come with us," she continued, switching back to English.

"What?" Sam, Emily, Ralph, Kendra, Derek, and Ralph chorused.

"It's gonna involve you three too. You need to be with us," Casey stated.

"Okay," they agreed. Derek looked at them in surprise. Okay? They were agreeing to this? And since when did his stepsister condone ditching school? As they headed out, Sam silently watched as Casey put a worried hand on the teacher's arm. _It's so weird. It's almost like they were a couple or something_, he thought to himself. _Wow. I thought she hated him_ _and yet she's acting all worried about this guy_, Emily thought. As they walked out, Derek narrowed his eyes as Casey supported the substitute teacher. _What is up with that? She's acting awful chummy with this substitute_, he thought to himself.

"Do you have a way to make it?" Casey softly asked Elijah.

"I have a jacket in the teacher's lounge," Elijah answered.

"We better get it," Casey said and they changed directions. Once they were at the lounge, Elijah went in and got the jacket. Then, they headed back out. Elijah put the jacket over his head as Casey opened the door. Then, they hurried out. Elijah pointed to a van and they all went in that direction. Elijah then opened the door and he, Casey, Sam, Emily, and Kendra piled in. Then, Derek also started to get in.

"What are you doing?" Casey asked, blocking his path.

"I'm coming with," Derek answered.

"This doesn't concern you," Casey responded. _I'm sorry, Derek. But this is too dangerous and I'm not going to risk you getting killed when you don't even know what I am_, she thought to herself.

"But it concerns my best friend?" Derek asked in hurt and confused surprise. _What is she hiding and why doesn't she trust me?_ he wondered.

"I'm sorry, Derek," Casey said and then shoved him back gently and closed the door. Derek watched as they drove off. _What's going on? Why would Casey ditch? This doesn't make sense_, he thought to himself.

"Where to, Cassandra?" Elijah asked.

"My house. We can use my bedroom," Casey responded. Elijah nodded and then headed in the direction that would lead to where she lived. When they finally got there, Elijah pulled into the driveway and then stopped the car. Casey got out and opened the door, then hurried to help Elijah into the house, making sure to cover the older vampire with the jacket.

"Come on in, Elijah," she invited, and then, she led them all down to her room.

"So what's going on?" Sam asked.

"We have to move fast. There's a vampire on the loose. He's extremely old and **very** dangerous," Casey told them.

"What does that have to do with us?" Kendra wondered.

"He's one of the Originals…and unfortunately…he's broken away from the Order," Elijah said.

"Huh?" Sam, Emily, and Kendra asked.

"He's gone rogue," Casey explained.

"Oh. That can't be good," Kendra commented.

"No, it's not," Casey said. _And we still don't know what exactly he wants_, she thought to herself. "That's why we're all here…to make a plan and to stop him before anyone else gets hurt," she continued.

"Okay then," the others said.

"So, what can we do?" Emily questioned.

"Honestly, I don't know," Casey admitted. "I mean, if this guy can make it so that Elijah can't even walk around during the day like he normally can, he's gotta be pretty powerful." _Man, I wish Rose was here. She'd be excellent in coming up with a plan_, she thought to herself. However, they wouldn't be able to meet up with her until that night. And she didn't even know where she was staying or how to get in contact with her.

"Yes, he was a brujo before he was turned. That's why Klaus was attracted to him," Elijah said.

"Someone turned a sorcerer? Oh, terrific," Casey said sarcastically. "Do you know what spell he used to make you prey to the sun?"

"No, I don't," he responded. _That's just lovely. We're up against a sorcerer vampire and I have practically no back up! I don't have that kind of power_, she thought to herself. How was she supposed to protect the others now?

"Okay, new plan. Elijah and I will deal with him, you guys stay home and **don**'**t** invite anybody in," she said out loud.

"No way!" Sam, Emily, and Kendra protested.

"We're in this together," Sam added, putting a hand on Casey's cheek.

"Sam, I love your willingness to fight, but this guy could probably kill you before you could even lift a hand to stop him," Casey stated, reaching up to hold his hand. _He, Kendra, and Emily are so young and have everything to live for. Elijah and I have lived wonderful lives and if we die, the only ones hurting would be other vampires_, she thought to herself.

"I told you, I'm not going to let anyone or anything hurt you," Sam responded. _I don't care how much she pushes me away. I'm not running_, he thought to himself. Casey's expression became resigned.

"All right," she agreed. _This is not going to end well_, she thought to herself. But she recognized Sam's visage as his "stubborn face" as she privately called it. Elijah glanced at Sam with raised eyebrows. He could smell the fear coming from him. _He's afraid but still willing to protect Cassandra_, he thought. He had to admit, he was impressed. Not many humans would be this determined to protect another person, much less a vampire. He then mentally shook his head and forced himself to refocus on the task at hand.

"If only there was a way we could like lure him out or-" Kendra's voice trailed off as Casey's eyes suddenly lit up. _Ooh! I know that look. She has an idea_, Emily thought.

"What's going on inside of that head of yours, Cassandra?" Elijah queried, realizing the same thing.

"Well, I was thinking that we could-" Casey broke off and she turned towards the door. "We've got company," she announced.

"Who?" Elijah asked.

"Nora and George," Casey answered. _They must've been called when we left suddenly_, she realized. They tensed and watched as the door opened. Seeing the group with Casey, Nora looked to the girl in confusion and she made her fingers into subtle claws. Nora nodded. She'd have to make this look good if she was going to give Casey a way to leave so that they could take care of whatever it was that she needed to take care of.

"Cassandra Angelina MacDonald, you have some explaining to do," the woman snapped.

"Mom, I'm sorry I didn't call you, but-" Casey began to apologize.

"You're grounded. Go to your room," Nora interrupted. "The rest of you-go home," she continued.

"No, I'm not going to my room," Casey responded.

"I'll-uh-just be going," Elijah said seemingly uncomfortably.

"Yeah. See ya Mrs. V," Sam stated and they all walked out.

"What did you just say?" Nora demanded.

"I said 'I'm not going to my room! You're being completely unfair!" Casey exclaimed.

"Casey, don't you dare talk to your mother that way!" George chided.

"Oh, butt out, George!" Casey snapped, turning to him. _Sorry George, but I have to make this look real_, she thought. "You know what? I am **so** sick of you guys always smothering me!" With that, she headed for the door.

"Don't you dare walk out that door!" Nora shouted, grabbing Casey's arm. Casey merely flicked the woman's hand away and then continued out the door, where she met the others and then quickly hurried to where she smelled Elijah's scent. Then, she quickly hurried to him, took off his coat, placing it over him, and they blurred to the Steiner residence.

"Casey, kids, come in," the man said in surprise. Then, "What are you all doing here?"

"The danger to her has intensified and she and her friends will be safer with me," came Elijah's response.

"All right," the man agreed almost demurely. Kendra, Sam, and Emily stared at each other in confusion. Why was Mr. Steiner acting so weird? However, Casey had realized what had happened. _Compulsion. Elijah's had him compelled this whole time_, she thought. Though, with the situation, it was probably the safest thing for him. Elijah grabbed the man by the arm and turned him so that the two men were facing each other.

"Ray, go into your guestroom and shut the door. I need to talk to Miss MacDonald," Elijah instructed. Immediately, the teacher did as he was told.

"We can't just stand around twiddling our thumbs. We need to take the fight to Marcus," Elijah announced.

"But how? We don't even know where he is and we need a plan," Emily reminded them.

"Oh, we've got a plan. We draw him out," Casey stated.

"How?" the others asked.

"Give him a human and a lone vampire to take on," Casey replied.

"Wha-" Almost immediately, Elijah's question died off as he realized what she was proposing. "No," he snapped.

"Going soft, Elijah?"

"I've never known you to be one for suicide, Cassandra."

"It's not suicide when you have another Original and a friend at your back."

"This is a bad idea."

"Look, he has to hunt."

"What about us? Where do we come in?" Kendra wondered.

"Emily, you'll draw him out. Then, I'll come to your rescue, and then Sam and Kendra will get you out of there while Elijah and I deal with him," Casey answered.

"That's flimsy at best, Cassandra."

"Do you have a better idea?"

"Sadly…no."

"Okay then." Casey motioned for Sam, Emily, and Kendra to follow her.

"We'll meet up later," she said. Elijah nodded. Then, they all headed out.

"Man, my mom's gonna kill me," Sam sighed.

"Yeah, so's mine," Emily and Kendra agreed.

"You guys don't have to help. I mean, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble with your parents," Casey told them.

"No, it's okay. This is important," Kendra replied. Sam and Emily nodded in agreement.

"Thanks," Casey said. Then, "But you guys **should** go home to avoid raising suspicion." The three nodded and did as they were instructed. As she headed home, Casey pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

"Hello?" she heard Rose ask almost immediately.

"Oh, good. The number's still the same," Casey sighed.

"Cassandra, what is it? Is everything all right?" Rose queried in concern.

"Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine. We've got a plan," Casey answered and then proceeded to fill her in.

"You're working with Elijah? Are you bonkers?"

"It's the only plan we've got!"

"This better work." She hung up. Later that night, they all met up at Elijah's.

"For the record, I don't trust you at all," Rose told Elijah.

"Duly noted," Elijah said.

"I'm not really trusting him either, Rose. He's just useful for this mission," Casey stated. With that, Casey, Rose, and Elijah equipped Sam, Emily, and Kendra with stakes and guns loaded with wooden bullets as well as similarly equipping themselves and then the group went out. Meanwhile, Marcus had tracked Elijah's scent from their previous encounter to the neighborhood. _Ah. Here he is_, he thought to himself. Then, another scent hit his nostrils: lilac and roses with a tinge of pepper. _Now that's a rather intoxicating smell_, he thought to himself and then almost unable to help himself, followed it. Presently, he came upon an African-American girl with hazel eyes and black hair. With a growl, he let his true features overcome him and he lunged at her! Emily screamed. Before she knew what was happening, Casey and Rose had appeared from their hiding place, Casey grabbed her, and threw her back, all the while glaring at Marcus as their vampiric features came forth.

"You," Marcus sneered. Too fast for Emily to see, Casey and Rose lunged at him and the three were soon a snarling blur. Emily watched with some fright. _What if he kills her?_ she wondered. How would they explain her death to everyone else? Then, something whizzed past her and by the time it registered that it was Elijah, he was already in the fray. There was a shot and then a scream of pain. Elijah and Casey stood up, guns pointed at the vampire.

"You think you can stop **me**?" he asked.

"We're doing a good job so far," Casey smirked. Marcus forced himself to his feet and then lunged at them. Well, tried to lunge. The wooden bullets seemed to slow him down. _Since when do wooden bullets affect an Original?_ Casey wondered. Then, she had no more time for thoughts as she found herself underneath the vampire's weight.

"CASEY!" Elijah began to rush at him, but Marcus turned around knocked him back. Unnoticed, Sam and Kendra came out, pulled their guns and fired on Marcus, who howled in pain and rage. He then turned to face them.

"You would **dare** to shoot **me**?" he asked condescendingly. "You pitiful humans. You have no idea just how in over your heads you actually are," he continued in the same tone. Kendra stared at him through narrowed eyes. Who did this guy think he was? Just because he was some high class form of vampire, didn't mean he was better than everyone else! Marcus stared at them with a smirk. Really? This was their defense? Two vampires and a group of humans? Without warning, a line of fire raced down the street and jumped on Marcus! The vampire screamed as Elijah quickly pushed Casey, Sam, and Emily away. _A witch? How did Marcus not sense her power?_ the male vampire wondered. Unseeingly, Kendra raised her hand and the fire continued to grow. The group watched as Marcus screamed as the fire engulfed him. _Whoa. That's useful_, Casey thought to herself. Then, she glanced at Kendra who was just staring blankly. Immediately, she blurred over to the girl and began shaking her.

"Kendra! Kendra!" she exclaimed. There was no answer, and the fire continued to rage.

"Casey, what's going on?" Sam wondered.

"KENDRA!" Casey shouted. The girl gasped and the instantly, the fire died, revealing a pile of ashes where Marcus had previously stood. Elijah gasped as he felt a strange sensation come over his body. _It's gone. Whatever Marcus did to me-it's gone_, he realized.

"Elijah, are you all right?" Casey asked in concern.

"Yeah. I-I feel like myself again," Elijah answered.

"Oh, that's good," Casey said. _One less thing we have to worry about_, she thought to herself.

"Wha-wha-what happened?" Kendra wondered.

"I presume that this is the witch you were telling me about," Rose commented.

"Yes," Casey answered.

"Guys, what happened?" Kendra questioned sharply.

"You basically went Charlie McGee on Marcus," Casey replied.

"Wha-I-I-I didn't mean-" Kendra began to stammer. _Oh, no. what if I hurt someone other than that guy?_ she wondered.

"It's all right. No one else got hurt," Rose interrupted. "Listen, I think you and I need to have a bit of a talk," she stated. Kendra nodded and let the woman lead her to a car. They got in and then drove off.

"Come. I'll give you all a ride back," Elijah said. Casey, Sam, Emily, and Kendra followed him, got into his car, and then he drove them back to their parents' houses. Then, finally, Elijah drove Casey to her place.

"So, it felt good working together again," Elijah commented, as he stopped the car in front of the house. _Yes, it did. But he hurt you. You can't forgive that_, Casey reminded herself.

"Goodbye, Elijah," she said, unbuckling herself. She put her hand on the door and opened it. Swiftly, Elijah leaned over and drew her into a kiss. Immediately, Casey growled and pushed him back.

"Don't you **ever** do that to me again!" she snarled, placing her fingers around his throat. _Stupid! Stupid! You know her past! Why would you do that?_ Elijah berated himself. "I worked with you because I **had** to. You and me-we're over-forever," she told him. Then, she got out of the car and walked into the house. Elijah sighed and drove away.

"Where have you been?" Nora demanded as the girl came into the living room.

"Taking care of something. It's all fine now," Casey replied, ignoring the looks of interest that were coming from Derek, Edwin, and Marti.

"I am **very** disappointed in you," George told her.

"You're grounded," Nora stated. Derek watched with mild concern as his stepsister just rolled her eyes. What was wrong with her? What could cause her to blow off school and then treat their parents this way?

"Fine. Whatever," Casey huffed. Then, she went down into her bedroom. Derek sat in seat, confused, but vowing to figure out what had caused his stepsister to act out.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Charlie McGee is the main character in the Stephen King novel "Firestarter". This concludes my version of "Middle Manic".


	22. Crushing The Coach Part 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Aw, did you miss me? Lol. Thanks, I'm glad you think so. Yeah, well, too bad for him. Yay! It worked out the way I wanted it then. Maybe I'll do what you did and start doing outtakes for this story. But then again, that's plagiarizing someone else, so…yeah, let's not do that. Yes, that's it for the "Protector" eps. Here's more. Sorry it's not soon enough.

Lanakila91: Thanks, I'm glad you think. Awwwww…well, too bad for him. We'll see. Here's the next chap.

Xtooxcoolmazzx: Thanks, sorry this isn't soon enough.

Alexandra101: Thanks.

DISCLAIMER

This takes place a few weeks after the last 'episode'. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot.

Casey bit her lip, watching anxiously as Lizzie ran across the soccer field, kicking the ball towards the goal. _Come on, Lizzie. Come on_, she urged silently. Almost as if the younger girl had heard her, Lizzie picked up her pace as she continued towards the goal. Then, seeing her shot, she gave out a kick and the ball went in. Casey, Nora, George, Edwin, and Marti jumped up and cheered loudly, while Derek just showed his approval with a smile and subdued clapping. _Man, she was on fire_, he thought to himself. Lizzie grinned as her teammates came up to her.

"All right, Lizzie!" they shouted. The girl was hoisted up and her friends began chanting something unintelligible. Casey laughed and then her eyes clouded. _Man, I miss Stefan and Damon_, she thought to herself. Nora and her family were great, but sometimes it was really hard being the only vampire around the house. Especially since she had to sneak her blood and live in the basement so that their scents didn't drive her crazy. _Well, at least Rose is around now_, she thought to herself. It **did** feel good to have another vampire around, even if Rose **couldn't **walk around in the day. Just the fact that she had someone to talk to was a relief. After several minutes, Lizzie was placed back on the ground and she ran to the family.

"Great job, Liz," she said, hugging the girl. As she did, she caught sight of a seventeen-year old Caucasian with black hair and brown eyes whose scent was that of dirt, rust, and nails. "Who's that?" she queried. _He's kinda cute…for a human. And anyway, Sam's cuter_, _and this guy smells a bit weird_ she thought to herself.

"That's the new coach, Scott Freeman," Lizzie replied.

"Oh," Casey said.

"You guys ready to go?" Nora asked.

"Yeah," the kids replied and they all headed for the car. They buckled themselves in and Nora drove back to their house. When they got there several minutes later, Nora parked and then they all went into the house.

"Okay, who's got homework?" Nora asked.

"Not me," Casey, Lizzie, and Edwin chorused.

"I've got a little but I can do it a bit later," Derek replied.

"As long as it gets done," George stated and Derek nodded in agreement and Lizzie went upstairs to take a shower. Just then, the phone rang and Casey and Derek both raced for the appliance, Casey being careful not to use her vampire speed. Derek reached the phone first and picked up the receiver.

"Hello?" he asked. He listened for a few minutes. "Case, it's for you…Kendra," he said. He watched as his stepsister's visage became concerned and she took the phone.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked. Then, "Do you guys mind? I'll tell you when I'm done." Taking the hint, George and Nora lead the other kids out of the room and into the kitchen. _Why's Kendra hanging around Casey and Rose so much and why can't I get Rose to notice me?_ Derek wondered as he followed the rest of his family. Sure, he had been subtle with his flirtation, but he would've thought that a woman of Rose's age would've been able to pick up on the hints. Casey made some attentive noises.

"Where are you guys?" she asked. "Okay, do you mind picking me up? I don't want the Venturis getting suspicious," she said. She hung up the phone. "Okay, I'm done!" she called and they came back into the living room.

"What's going on?" George asked.

"Kendra needs some study help," Casey responded.

"And her parents aren't able to help her?" George asked.

"They're not understanding the material any better than she is," Casey replied. Just then, Casey's ears detected the sound of an engine. _Wow. Rose must've blurred the car over_, she thought. George's brows furrowed when he heard the sound.

"Is that Kendra's father's car?" he asked.

"Probably," Casey answered.

"Don't stay out too late," Nora said.

"I won't," Casey promised. Then, she walked out of the door. She got into the car, which had tinted windows, and Rose drove away. Once they were at the apartment, they hurried in before Rose could get too burned.

"What happened?" Casey asked once they were inside.

"They threw me out! They said I was disgracing the family and until I stopped "this nonsense"-meaning the witch stuff-they weren't going to allow me back in the house!" Kendra exclaimed. Casey let out an annoyed breath. _I don't believe this_, she thought.

"That's it! They're dead!" she shouted.

"Cassandra," Rose warned. _I completely agree with her, but if she's not careful, she's liable to vamp out_, she thought to herself.

"No! I am **so** sick of this family doing this! First with Regina, and now with Kendra!" Casey exclaimed. "They're dead! They're **so** dead!" she continued, letting her true features show. Kendra let out a small gasp. Sure, she knew that Casey was a vampire, but she had never seen the girl's real face.

"Cassandra!" Rose snapped, grabbing Casey's arm and turning the girl towards her. "You need to calm down. You're scaring Kendra," she continued.

"Sorry," the younger vampire murmured and her visage returned to normal. Meanwhile, at home, Lizzie had finished her shower, had gotten dressed, and was drying her hair. _Man, I still can't believe how freaked out Casey got_, she thought to herself. Sure, it had been scary to think that Casey had had to deal with another vampire in town who had tried to kill them all. But surely it had just been a fluke. It didn't mean that other vampires were going to start showing up. However, Casey had been adamant that she, Nora, and the Venturis have vervain in all of their body washes, shampoos, conditioners, perfumes, and colognes and her mother had obliged their ancestor. Casey's own shower accessories had been marked with her human initials to avoid any mishaps. When her hair was finally dry, she walked back downstairs to see Edwin, Derek, and Marti watching television as George and Nora worked on a puzzle.

"Where's Casey?" Lizzie wondered.

"She went to help Kendra with some homework," Edwin replied.

"Oh. Okay," Lizzie responded. _I wonder what's __**really**__ going on with Kendra. I mean, Casey hasn't said much about her, but I get the feeling that there's something supernatural about her_, she thought to herself. Back at Rose's apartment, Casey had helped Rose set Kendra up in a guestroom.

"All right, besides, the apparent idiocy of two humans you barely know, what's bothering you?" Rose asked after a while.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Cassandra said.

"I haven't really smelled Sam on you as much," Rose continued.

"I'm trying to stay away from him," Casey said.

"Why?" Rose wondered.

"Because what if Marcus had actually had a plan to kill us? I mean, Sam was so willing to die for me and he's only like, sixteen!" Casey exclaimed.

"And so are you-physically," Rose pointed out.

"Yes, but I've also lived for a century," Casey reminded. "If I died, it wouldn't really matter in the grand scheme of things because I've lived so long and seen so much," she continued.

"Cassandra-" Rose began, but Casey held up a hand to interrupt her.

"I've been around since the eighteen hundreds. Sam's just a kid compared to me. I've been selfish, Rose," she commented.

"Casey, that's so not true!" Kendra interjected, reminding the two vampires that she was in the room. They turned to her. "Anyone can see that Sam's totally in love with you! And just because you're a century older, doesn't mean you're incompatible!" she went on to say. Casey's eyes clouded. _They're right_, she thought.

"Cassandra, why have you let this bother you?" Rose wondered. The younger vampire shrugged.

"I don't know. I mean, I hadn't even really thought about it until this whole thing with Elijah happened," she answered. Rose reached out to touch Casey's arm.

"Are you perhaps feeling a bit…lonely?" Instinctively, Casey knew that Rose was referring to her being one of the only two vampires in town. Though not pack creatures by any means, vampires did enjoy mingling amongst themselves.

"Perhaps. I mean-and no offense-but sometimes it's hard being the only day-walking vampire around."

"No offense taken."

"Yeah. How does that work anyway?" Rose and Casey looked to Kendra.

"A witch does a spell over a piece of lazuli jewelry," Rose explained. Casey looked at her watch.

"I better get back before the Venturis get suspicious. I said I was going over to Kendra's to help her with Math," she commented.

"Good idea," Rose agreed grabbing her keys. Then they hurried to Rose's car. Rose placed the key in the ignition, turned it, and then hurried in the direction of Casey's house. Once there, Casey walked in and Rose drove away. George glanced at Casey as she walked back in.

"Did the studying go okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Casey replied. However, she didn't say anything more and then went downstairs to her room. Just then, her cell phone chirped, letting her know that she had a missed call. _Maybe it was Stefan or Damon_, she thought to herself. She hoped so. She really missed them. She picked up the phone and dialed her voice mail. The caller hadn't been either one of her brothers, but Sam.

"Case, come on. What's going on? Why won't you talk to me?" she heard his voice ask. "Did I do something to hurt or upset you? If I did, I'm sorry. Please call me," he finished and then hung up. Casey deleted the voice message and then called Sam.

"Casey. Hey! You got my message!" Sam exclaimed in relief. _Maybe now I can get to the bottom of what's going on_, he thought to himself.

"Don't call me again, Sam. I don't want to see you," Casey told him, her voice emotionally.

"Wha-Casey!"

"It's over, Sam. Goodbye." Then, amidst his clamoring, Casey hung up. In his room, Sam stared at his phone.

"What just happened here?" he asked himself.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I had Kendra use the house phone because I felt that it would help further the plot. I still haven't decided whether or not Derek's gonna find out Casey's secret.


	23. Crushing The Coach Part 2

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Lol. Someone's excited. Thanks. Well, for the answer to that question, just read on. Sorry this isn't soon enough. Probably about four parts.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks. Yeah, I know what you mean. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Xtooxcoolxmazzx: Sorry this isn't soon enough. Enjoy.

Twilight the Wolf: No, actually I got it from Power Rangers. Bye.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot. I chose to skip to the next morning to further along the plot.

The next morning, Casey woke up, got dressed, pulled out a blood bag, opened it, put the open space into her mouth and drank. Then, grabbing her backpack, she went upstairs where she got herself a bowl of cereal and some orange juice and then sat down at the table to eat. Soon, she was joined by the rest of the family. The girl only half-listened as the other members of the family talked amongst themselves. When she was done with her cereal, she excused herself, took her plate to the sink, rinsed it out, put it in the dishwasher, and then turned back to the rest of the family. She let out a small sigh that was almost inaudible. _She looks kinda weird. Is she okay?_ Derek wondered, hearing the sound. However, something told him not to say anything. When everyone was finally done, they all grabbed their school or work supplies and they all headed for the car. George put the key in the ignition, started the car, and drove off, dropping each kid at their respective school. When they got to SJSTH, Casey quickly headed for the entrance moving as fast as she could without using her vampire powers, as Derek followed her.

"Casey, will you wait up?" he asked.

"You don't have to follow me," was her response.

"Well, right now, I kinda do."

"Whatever." Derek blew out a breath. What was up with her? However, she didn't give him a chance to ask. As the day progressed, Derek realized that Casey wasn't only avoiding him, but Sam as well.

"What's wrong with Casey, man?" Derek asked Sam at lunch.

"I really don't know," Sam answered truthfully.

"What do you mean? You're her boyfriend. She'd tell you things she wouldn't tell me," Derek reminded.

"Not anymore. She broke up with me last night," Sam answered.

"What? Why?" Derek asked in surprise. _It doesn't make sense_. _She's crazy about him. Why would she dump him?_ he wondered.

"I don't know."

"Well, what happened?"

"I don't know! She just started distancing herself from me, not taking my calls or anything. Then she called me last night and then told me it was over and that she didn't want to see me."

"Weird."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"You want me to talk to her?"

"No, this is something I should handle myself."

"Okay." Sam sighed dejectedly and Derek punched his shoulder gently. At another table, Kendra, Casey, and Emily were eating their own meal.

"So, Casey, how come you're not eating with Sam?" Kendra wondered.

"Yeah, you guys are usually inseparable," Emily added.

"We broke up," Casey told them.

"What?" Kendra and Emily chorused.

"Why?" Emily added.

"It just wasn't working out," Casey answered. "And besides, it's better this way," she continued curtly. _Better? What is she talking about?_ Emily wondered. _Oh, man. She didn't break up with him because of some vampire thing, did she?_ Kendra asked herself. However, she couldn't ask that with Emily there. Kendra and Emily glanced at each other, but decided to drop the subject. If Casey didn't want talk about it, they weren't about to force her. They continued eating. Presently, Casey needed something more to drink and stood up and went to the drink line.

"I'll be right back," Sam said, standing up.

"Good luck," Derek told him before he got out of earshot.

"Casey." Hearing Sam's voice, Casey briefly closed her eyes and then reopened them.

"What do you want, Sam?"

"An explanation. What's going on?" She turned around.

"It's over. What part of that don't you understand?"

"The reason. Why did you break up with me?" Casey looked at Sam, who was staring at her earnestly. If heart had still been beating, it would've stopped at the sight. If he kept this up, she'd break down and get back together with him. And she couldn't do that. She couldn't put him at risk again just because she liked how he made her feel. _I could say I don't love him. That I was just toying with him_. _That it was all a game_, she thought to herself. But that'd be too cruel. She couldn't do that to someone as nice as Sam.

"I could've gotten you killed. And I don't want to risk that," she told him quietly. Sam let out a frustrated breath.

"I knew the risk when I decided to help you. You were in danger. It was the least I could do," he reminded.

"I'm sorry, Sam. But I'm not worth dying for," Casey stated and then walked away, leaving a speechless Sam behind. _What is she talking about? Of course she's worth dying for! I love her!_ he thought to himself. Why did his love for her scare her so bad? He sighed and went back to his seat. After that, he had no further chances to talk with her due to the fact that she left each class for the next one as fast as she could. Finally, school was over and George came to pick Derek and Casey up.

"Lizzie at soccer practice?" Casey questioned.

"Yep," George replied.

"I'm going to go do my homework," Casey stated and then went downstairs to the basement. Meanwhile, at Rose's apartment, Rose and Kendra were practicing a levitating spell.

"Wow. I can't believe I'm doing this," Kendra laughed as she held two pillows in the air and twirled them around.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, it is. Thanks for being willing to teach me," Kendra confirmed.

"No problem," Rose said. "All right. Let's try another spell," she suggested.

"Okay," Kendra agreed. With that, Rose, pulled out a box of matches and opened them. Kendra blew out a breath as the woman held up one of the matches. Fire. The one element that she was having problems with. Yes, she could summon the fire if she was angry enough, but the older woman had said that it was imperative to be able to summon it when she was calm.

"Take your time. Concentrate," Rose encouraged. Kendra nodded. _I can do this. I just have to concentrate_, she told herself. She closed her eyes. She let her mind be filled with the sight of the stick. _Imagine you're cold and you want to be warm_, she thought to herself. Yeah. It was winter and she was freezing. There was a crackling noise and she opened her eyes to see the match that Rose was holding burning. Kendra laughed.

"Oh, my gosh! I did it!" she stated.

"Yes, you did. Very nice," the other woman said and then blew out the match. They'd work on her turning off the power another time.

"I just wish I could tell my parents about this stuff," Kendra said, her eyes clouding.

"I'm sorry," Rose apologized.

"I don't get it though. If you and Casey have all this power at your disposal, why don't you just like…**force** them to be okay with our heritage?" Kendra queried.

"You mean compel them?" Rose asked.

"If that's what you call it, yeah," Kendra nodded.

"We could, but Casey and I don't like to work that way," Rose answered.

"Oh," Kendra said. _Well, there goes __**that**__ idea_, she thought.

"What would you rather have, Kendra? Your parents accepting you as a witch because they love you or because they were compelled to accept it?" Rose asked as if she had read her mind.

"Because they loved me," Kendra replied. "Did you just-"

"No, we can't we read minds." At his own house, Sam was on his bed continually throwing a small basketball through a hoop. _This totally stinks. Why would Casey do this?_ he wondered. There was a knock on his door.

"Come in," he called. His mother, Melody, walked in.

"Hey, honey. Tough day at school?" she asked.

"Sort of," he replied with a sigh. "I can't get Casey to talk to me."

"Oh, honey," the woman said sympathetically. _I don't understand why Casey's doing this. I've seen the way she looks at him-like she's absolutely in love with him_, she thought to herself. And yet, for some reason that she seemed to be unwilling to talk about, she had broken up with her son the previous night. "I wish there was something I could do for you," she told him.

"It's okay. I kinda feel like bein' alone anyway," Sam told her.

"All right. I'll give you your space," the woman said, placing a small kiss on the top of his head.

"Mom, what am I, five?" he complained.

"To me you are," she chuckled and then walked out of the room. Meanwhile, Casey was in her room, finishing up her homework. When she was done, she put her books away. Then, Lizzie's peppermint scent hit her nostrils followed by dirt, rust, and nails. _Ooooh. Scott's here_, she thought to herself and went upstairs to see Lizzie practically bouncing up and down with excitement.

"What's going on?" Casey asked, walking up to them.

"I'm captain! I'm captain!" Lizzie screeched, causing the other members of the family to come into the living room. Marti looked up at the boy who was standing in front of her older stepsisters. _Who is __**he**__?_ she wondered. Whoever he was, he gave off a strange vibe.

"Hey, that's great," Casey said, bending down to give the younger girl a hug.

"What's going on?" Edwin asked and Lizzie repeated her news. Instantly, everyone was congratulating the younger girl. Scott stared at Casey. _Whoa. She's hot_, he thought to himself.

"Hi, uh, I'm Scott Freeman," he introduced himself.

"Casey MacDonald," Casey responded and they shook hands.

"Yeah, CL talks about you constantly saying how you're such a cool big sister," Scott stated.

"'CL'?" Casey asked, pretending not to understand.

"For Captain Lizzie," Lizzie told her and Casey nodded, though Lizzie got the feeling that she had just pretended not to understand. Scott continued to make small-talk for a few minutes and then left.

"So, that was your coach, huh?" Casey asked.

"Yeah," Lizzie replied. _What is she thinking?_ she wondered.

"Interesting," Casey said. _He __**is**__ kinda cute. Maybe he's just what I need to keep my mind off of Sam_, she thought to herself. Then, she went back to her room. Edwin and Lizzie looked at each other and Edwin stepped closer to her.

"Game Closet?" he asked.

"No. There's nothing to talk about," she replied.

"I don't like him. He's a jerk," Marti announced.

"Marti, that's not nice," George scolded.

"I don't care! Scott's a jerk!" Marti exclaimed stubbornly. How could she make them see that this Scott guy was bad news? Nora and George looked at each other. _This isn't like Marti. She usually likes everybody_, George thought to himself. _Maybe she's just feeling jealous because he kept his attention on Lizzie and Casey_, she thought to herself.

"Honey, are you sure you're not just feeling a little left out because he only talked to the older kids!" Nora suggested gently.

"No!" Marti exclaimed. _I don't know __**why**__ I don't like him, I just don't!_ she thought to herself. She screamed in frustration. How could she make them understand? George let out an annoyed sigh. He didn't want to deal with this.

"Marti, either stop this or go to your room," George told her firmly. Marti let out another scream and then ran upstairs to her room. Casey frowned in confusion. _That was really weird_, she thought to herself. Marti usually liked everybody. Why would she react so strongly to Scott like that? Concerned, she and Derek looked at each other. Then, they went to Marti's room and she knocked on the door.

"Go away!" she heard the younger girl yell.

"Marti, it's Casey. Can I come in so we can talk?" Casey asked.

"No!" Marti yelled.

"Smarti, will you talk to me?" Derek asked. There was some muttering as if Marti were talking to herself.

"Okay, Smerek," she finally agreed.

"I'll leave you guys alone," Casey said and then walked off. Marti opened the door and let her brother in and then went to sit on her bed.

"So, Smarti. What's going on with you? You usually like everybody," Derek said, sitting in front of her.

"Well, I don't like Scott!" Marti insisted. _He just makes me feel funny_, she thought.

"Um, Smarti, did you-**talk** to him at Lizzie's last game?" Derek asked seriously, scooting closer. She shook her head. Derek started to feel more than a bit nervous. Had something happened between his sister and the coach that no one was aware of? He put his finger under her chin and tilted her chin up so that they were facing so she could see how serious he was. "Smarti, did he approach or try to do anything that made you feel uncomfortable at the game?" he asked seriously. _Oh, man. I hope not. But if he __**did**__, I've gotta tell Dad_, he thought.

"No," Marti answered truthfully.

"Then why don't you like him?"

"I don't know! I just know that he makes me feel funny and I don't like it!" Derek let out an internal sigh of relief that his sister hadn't been hurt. So then it was just a feeling that his sister had gotten. What they didn't know was that Casey had heard everything, her eyes flashing in approval when he had checked to make sure that this guy hadn't tried to hurt her. It was a valid question, one she would've asked herself if she had been talking to the younger girl given the way she was acting. She pursed her lips determinedly. _If this human is getting this kind of reaction from Marti, I should definitely check him out_, she thought to herself. Then, she nodded, making a decision. She would check out this Scott guy and see why Marti didn't like him. Because, after all, if the youngest girl-who usually liked **everybody**-was getting bad vibes from him, something had to be up. And she was going to find out what and make sure he wasn't a threat…to anybody. For a moment, Casey's hazel eyes flashed wildly, making her look even more like the vampire she was. Then, she let her lips curve into a terrible, feral smirk.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

In this version of "Crushing The Coach", Lizzie doesn't have a crush on Scott. I had planned to put something in this chap, but with the way it's going, it'll most likely be in the next chap. The next chapter will be the same "episode" but will be a few days later. I think this episode will be about four chapters.


	24. Crushing The Coach Part 3

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Ookami Sakura: Thanks. Well, you're just going to have to continue reading to find out.

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Well, keep reading and find out. Thanks. Yeah, I thought that'd be good. Yep. Sorry this isn't soon enough. You'll find out soon enough.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot. This chapter takes place a few days after the last one and Derek knows that she's only dating Scott to figure out why Marti had her reaction to him. I **do** have an un-Casey like word in here, but I figured it fight with her real personality.

Nora was sitting at the coffee table, looking over some designs, George was beside her looking over some papers, while Lizzie was sitting on the couch working on some homework, Edwin was beside her reading a comic, Derek was sitting in his chair with Marti in his lap watching t.v. when Casey came up from her bedroom. He looked away from the television long enough to see that she had on a sleeveless blue knee-length dress. _Oh, great. Another date with Scott_, he thought to himself, recognizing the outfit which had secretly dubbed as a "date uniform".

"Where's Scott taking you tonight?" he asked, causing the others to look at the girl. Marti wrinkled her nose at the name.

"I don't know. He didn't say," she responded.

"He's icky! Stop dating him!" the girl shouted and then ran upstairs.

"So, have you figured out why Marti doesn't like him yet?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Have you talked to Sam?" Again, she shook her head.

"I really messed up there."

"Hey, it'll work out." She gave him a grateful smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. _Hmmm. Looks like she'll need some cheering up_, he thought. That meant prank time. Just then, the doorbell rang and Casey hurried to answer it. Scott smiled at her and they headed out. As soon as the door shut, Derek got up.

"Be right back," he said.

"Just make sure it's something simple to fix," George reminded. He and Nora had long ago realized that while for most people, pranks would end up in major fights and shouting, for Casey and Derek, pranking was their way of cheering each other up. Derek nodded and raced upstairs to the bathroom. What should he do? _Okay, remember nothing that she won't be able to handle or fix_, he reminded himself as he looked around. Then, he noticed their bottles of soap, shampoos, and conditioners. _She'll definitely get a kick out of this_, he thought to himself. With that, he ran back downstairs, got some tools, and then headed back to the bathroom. Then, he unscrewed faucet cap, grabbed his bottle of conditioner, poured some of it into the nozzle then put the bottle down and fixed the nozzle so that it was back in place. He smiled. The amount of conditioner he had put in the pipes wouldn't clog them, but it'd certainly give Casey a surprise. Then, he went back downstairs and put the tools away before going back to watch t.v. Now all he had to do was wait for Casey to come home and take a shower. Meanwhile, Scott had taken Casey to an upscale restaurant known as _Pierre's_.

"Wow. This is a really nice place, Scott," she commented. Why can't I get a bead on him? she wondered. She had smelled a lot of different scents on him, but they had all proved to be either his friends or the girls he was coaching.

"I'm glad you like it," Scott said with a grin. _Yes. It's almost time for me to make my move. I've wined and dined her for three nights straight and she'll be willing to do anything I want_, he thought to himself. The maitre d came up to them.

"Can I get you some water to start with?" he asked.

"Yes, please," Casey replied.

"I'll have an iced tea please," Scott stated.

"Very well, Sir," the maitre d responded and walked off. Casey smiled.

"You know, I'm really glad you said yes when I asked you out," Scott said. "I was pretty nervous," he added with a laugh.

"What?" Casey asked. "No way. You were so totally suave," she told him. They continued to talk and presently, the maitre d came back with their drinks.

"Are you ready to order?" he asked.

"Would you mind if I ordered for us?" Scott questioned.

"Go ahead," Casey allowed. Scott gave the man the orders and he left. After that, the date seemed to go by very quickly. They talked until their meals came and then continued talking. Scott and Casey discussed everything and anything, stopping only to either eat something off of their plate or take a drink. After the meal was done, Scott headed back to Casey's house. He parked the car.

"Thanks for the nice time," Casey said as she unbuckled herself.

"No problem," Scott responded, doing the same. Casey put her hand on the door handle and opened the door. She was about to get out when Scott grabbed her arm. She arched an eyebrow. _Is he serious?_ she wondered.

"Hey, what's your hurry?" he asked.

"Our date's over, Scott," she answered.

"Not without a kiss," he pointed out, moving closer and then positioning himself over her. Then, he bent down and let his hands roam. Before he knew what was happening, Casey had grabbed him by the throat and pinned him to the other side of the car.

"You shouldn't have tried that," she growled. Scott's eyes widened when he saw her fangs protruding menacingly and that her eyes were flashing a darker color than normal.

"What are you?" he gasped.

"Your worst nightmare, boy," she responded. Then, she bent down and tore into the side of his neck, making sure that his scream was muffled by her hand. When she had drank enough so that he was weakened but not dead, she pulled back and let her pupils dilate.

"I guess you think you're a big man, don't you? You wine and dine a girl, and then you think you can take what you want from her, don't you?" she asked.

"Yes, I do," Scott answered her in a daze.

"You know, I usually kill guys who this kind of stunt," Casey told him.

"Are you going to kill me?" Scott asked in the dazed tone.

"No," Casey replied. "I should…but there'd be too many questions," she continued. Then she lifted up his shirt and bit him in the chest, letting her fangs travel downward, leaving a deep gash. She wiped the blood from her fangs. "You dropped me off and then went home. On the way, you were attacked by an animal. It bit and struck you. That's all you remember," she told him, using her nails to trace the scratches.

"I dropped you off and went home. I was attacked by an animal," he repeated. She got out of the car and returned her features to normal before heading back in. Scott put his seat belt on and drove home.

"So, how'd the date go?" Nora asked.

"Oh, just fine until he tried to get fresh with me," Casey replied.

"WHAT!" Derek growled, his hands balling into fists. _I don't believe this. He tried to hurt her?_ he thought furiously.

"Relax. I beat him pretty bad. He won't try that again," Casey answered and then went to her bedroom, got a pajama outfit, and then went up to the bathroom. _Well, Marti's feelings were right on the money. Then again, young kids can almost always tell when someone's full of crap_, she thought to herself as she undressed. Then, she stepped into the tub, reached up, and turned the shower nozzle. The water immediately cascaded around her. She gasped in pain at the sizzling sensation. _Vervain!_ her mind screamed. She stepped back, trying to get out from under the water, but lost her footing and collapsed. Downstairs, everyone jumped when they heard the dull thud. Then, they heard a faint scream. As one, they all ran up the stairs. _Did she get some of the conditioner in her eye?_ Derek wondered worriedly. Casey tried to get up, but the vervain had seeped into her bloodstream. _Hurts_, she thought to herself.

"Derek, what exactly was the prank?" George asked as they all ran up.

"I put my conditioner in the pipes so that when she turned on the faucet it'd come out in the water. I didn't think she'd get it in her eye or anything," Derek replied. _Oh, no! Vervain!_ Nora thought. She opened the door to the shower, and turned off the water.

"Casey, hold on," Nora soothed. She then grabbed the girl by the shoulders and lifted her up. "Lizzie, will you please get a towel?" Nora requested and the younger came in to do so.

"What happened?" Edwin wondered.

"I don't know," Derek answered as Lizzie placed a towel over Casey's body. _She got hurt? I didn't mean to hurt her_, he thought to himself. He peeked around Nora in concern and was surprised to see wisps of smoke coming from Casey's body. _What? What is that?_ he wondered. "Is she okay? I didn't mean to hurt her," he said.

"Don't worry about it, Derek. You didn't know," Nora responded.

"Know what?" Marti whispered and her older brothers shrugged.

"Hurts…bad," Casey murmured.

"I know, I know. Just give it a little bit, and hopefully the vervain will be out of your system," Nora soothed.

"Yeah, you're going to be okay, Case," Lizzie assured.

"Vervain?" the Venturis chorused. _Oh, dang it!_ Nora seethed. She hadn't meant to slip like that.

"Want Stefan and Damon," Casey murmured. _I'd want my big brothers too if I was in her position_, Lizzie thought to herself.

"Oh, I know, honey. But they're not here," Nora responded, smoothing back the younger girl's hair. _I've never seen her like this before. It must've really seeped in_, she thought.

"Nora, what is going on? What is wrong with Casey?" George demanded. Nora turned to her husband. What could she say?

"I think we're going to have to tell them, Mom," Lizzie commented. Casey started to get back up, but fell back to the ground.

"Don't tell. He'll kill me!" she whispered in fright. George's head recoiled. Kill her? Why would she think he would kill her?

"No, no, no, no, no. He's not going to hurt you," Nora assured.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on here?" George demanded.

"No!" Casey protested, sitting up and making sure that the towel was covering her body.

"Casey, it's okay. You know you can trust them," Lizzie pointed out. Casey bit her lip. She was right. She **could** trust the Venturis. Slowly she nodded her consent.

"Casey's a vampire," Nora told them. For a moment, the stepfamily stared.

"She's a **what**?" they all chorused.

"I'm a vampire," the girl repeated. "Look, I'll tell you everything after I get some pajamas on," she promised.

"Fair enough," George agreed. With that, they all walked out. As she put the pajamas on, Casey blew out a breath. _I'm sorry, you guys. But I have to tell them_, she thought. Sure they had told a few select outsiders before, but that had always been when they were safe. However, she also knew that she could no longer keep this a secret from the rest of her family. She let out another breath and then walked downstairs. She nervously looked at the Venturis. _Will they hate me or think I'm a threat?_ she wondered.

"You said you'd tell us everything," George reminded.

"My name is Cassandra Angelina Salvatore. I am the daughter of Giuseppe Salvatore and the sister of Damon and Stefan Salvatore," Casey told them. _A vampire?_ Derek thought. _Is she serious? There's no such thing_, he continued.

"Will you hurt us?" Marti asked timidly. _If she's a monster, will be safe?_ she wondered.

"Marti!" Edwin exclaimed. _I can't believe she would ask something like that_, he thought.

"That's a fair, question," Casey assured. "And no, Marti. I would **never** hurt you," she continued.

"But you can walk in the sun. We've all seen you," George pointed out.

"Day-walking ring," Casey answered, showing him the jewelry.

"Garlic? Holy water?" Derek asked.

"Love it. Tastes disgusting," Casey replied.

"So, what happened in the shower? I mean, all I did was put some of my conditioner in the pipes," Derek commented.

"Your conditioner's laced with vervain, Derek. Vervain weakens and can kill me," Casey responded.

"Oh," Derek said in surprise. "Oh, geez! I'm sorry! I-I didn't-" Casey waved the apology off with a hand.

"Don't worry about it. It's fine," she assured. "Now then, I'm going to bed. This excitement's tired me out," she continued. With that, she went down to her bedroom where she picked up her cell phone and dialed a number.

"Hello?" a male voice asked.

"Sam?"

"Casey?" Casey smiled at the excitement in the boy's voice.

"I-I just called to say I'm sorry for avoiding you. You know, I thought it'd make things easier, but it's just made things harder."

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Well, I just wanted to apologize. Which I have, so…" Casey's voice trailed off as she started to hang up.

"Casey, wait!" She put the phone to her. "I'm still crazy about you."

"I feel the same. But…I've hurt you…constantly. It's not fair to keep doing this to you."

"I think that should be my decision. And I want you."

"Really? You still want me?"

"Yes." Casey laughed softly. _Wow. I can't believe this. I'm putting him through so much and he still wants me_, she thought to herself. "So, what do you say? You wanna get back together."

"Yes." He laughed happily.

"Listen, I'd love to keep talking to you, but I've gotta talk to a friend about something."

"A vampire?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." They hung up and Casey dialed a number. She waited until she heard someone pick up.

"We need to talk…"

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Casey's more affected by the vervain this time around because it actually got **in** to her blood stream and in a larger dose. And thus ends "Crushing The Coach".


	25. Dating Game Part 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thanks. I thought it'd be more fitting this way. Yeah, I wasn't originally planning on a reveal, but it just worked out that way. Thanks, well, it just didn't work out that way. And read on and see.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks. Well, Scott wasn't exactly thinking about "sleeping", and yeah, she's had a rough night. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

This takes place a few weeks after the last chap and is my version of the ep, which will include Kendra and Derek becoming closer as well as Sam and Casey's relationship going a bit deeper. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW.

Casey, Derek, Sam, and Emily walked up the steps to Sir John Thompson Sparrow High.

"This is going to be a good day. I just know it," Casey declared and everyone laughed. They continued on their way and went to their lockers, where Kendra met up with Derek.

"Hey, how you doing?" Derek asked.

"I'm doing pretty well. Rose is helping me with my magic," Kendra answered. _I am __**so**__ glad that I don't have to keep this from him_, she thought, remembering how Casey had stated a few weeks earlier that she had told the boy what she was really was and had given Kendra her blessing to do the same.

"Hey, that's great," Derek told her.

"I'm still not up to full strength, but Rose says I'm coming along great," Kendra commented. _I can't believe I'm actually having a conversation like this_, Derek thought. It was almost unreal.

"That's pretty cool," he said out loud. Then, the warning bell rang and they went into their home room, where Casey and Emily compared notes for a report that they were doing together while Sam, Kendra, and Derek talked. Presently, Ralph came in.

"Dude, you're late," Sam said in surprise.

"Yeah, I know. Car trouble," Ralph replied.

"I'm surprised that thing hasn't died yet," Derek commented. _What I __**really**__ can't believe is that Ralph is the first of us to get his license_, he thought.

"Hey, don't knock my car! It gets me here!" Ralph exclaimed. Sam and Derek shook their heads, but didn't say anything further. The teacher noted Ralph's tardiness and acknowledged it by writing something down. After homeroom, they went to Mr. Steiner's history class.

"Well, let's see what he'll get wrong today," Casey commented.

"You're so bad," Emily laughed.

"Hey, I'm the only vampire here, I've gotta make my own fun," Casey responded softly. They laughed as they entered the room and took their seats. Ray Steiner looked at the class, letting his gaze linger on Casey, Derek, and their friends. He still couldn't believe that they were all hanging out together. When the school year had started, they hadn't even known each other, and now they were all inseparable. _Well, I guess that's high school for you_, the man thought to himself. There was no predicting what would happen among some students. And as long as it didn't disrupt the class, who was he to complain? He then started his lecture. Casey hunched over her notebook and began taking notes. _Well, so far, so good_, she thought as she recognized the information as accurate. To tell the truth, Steiner hadn't gotten his facts wrong for a while now…which was kind of boring for her, but probably better for the other students. When the class was finally done, they all gathered their things, got up, and headed out. At lunch, Casey, Sam, Emily, Derek, and Ralph all sat down at a table and began eating. From all around her, Casey could hear the various heartbeats. _Man, it's a good thing I fed this morning, or this would drive me crazy_, she thought to herself as the others chattered around her, not seeming to notice her subdued mood.

"Hey, you all right?" Ralph asked presently.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she responded.

"You sure?" Sam checked.

"Definitely," Casey confirmed. Then, "You wanna come over tonight? You know, nothin' major, just kinda hang out?"

"Sure," Sam answered. Derek shook his head. _Those two are nuts_, he thought to himself. Then, his eyes clouded. Would he ever find something like they had?

"Are you wantin' it to be like a date, cause I can make myself scarce," Derek offered. Casey laughed.

"That's sweet of you Derek, but I happen to know that the Canucks are playing tonight, and I wanna see if they're gonna kick butt," she answered.

"Canuck party! All right! I'll bring the drinks!" Ralph cheered.

"Ralph, you're supposed to wait to be invited," Sam reminded him. _Especially since you'd be going to a house that has a vampire in it_, he thought.

"What, you mean I'm not invited?" Ralph asked, looking confused. Kendra and Emily shared a look and then shook their heads in unison.

"Sure, Ralph. You can come," Derek said. After lunch was over, they went to their next class. What no one knew was that a sleek black 1968 Ford Mustang was heading towards Toronto. In the car were two boys-one who appeared to be twenty-four and one who appeared to be seventeen.

"Okay, tell me again why we couldn't just call her and tell her that we're coming?" the younger boy asked.

"Because then it wouldn't be a surprise," came the response.

"Given everything she's been through, do you really think surprising her is the best idea?" the younger boy questioned.

"Aw, come on, little brother. Where's your sense of adventure?" his companion asked.

"I think I left it in Texas," was the answer. "And could you please slow down? You're gonna get someone killed," he continued.

"Aw, you're no fun," the older man said. However, he did as the younger boy requested. The younger of the two shook his head. _He's crazy_, he thought to himself.

"Well, we **should** be there by in a couple of hours…especially with the way you drive," he commented.

"Good." As he said this, the older one reached over and slapped his companion upside the head, earning a glare. Then, the two lapsed into silence as the older boy continued driving. Back at school, Casey and her friends had finished lunch and were in another class. Casey wrote furiously, taking in what she needed. When the day was finally done, she, Derek, Emily, and Sam all went to the curb to wait for rides while Ralph went to his own car.

"Wait, if Rose can't go out in the sun, how does she pick up Kendra?" Sam wondered. Derek looked to Casey. That was actually something he had been wondering himself.

"She has a car that's been especially made with tempered glass and sunglasses can temporarily cause the sun to reflect away from her, allowing her to get around when she needs to," Casey explained and the others nodded. _That makes sense_, Derek thought. Soon, their rides came and they all got in the cars, which then took off. When they got home, Casey immediately began her schoolwork. Due to her vampire speed, she finished with all assignments fairly quickly. Then, she hurried downstairs, turned on the television, and sifted through the guide, trying to find out the time of the game. When she found it, she nodded. _Okay, good to know_, she thought to herself. Then, after she took note of the start time, she turned the television off. Just then, Derek came down the stairs from Marti's room.

"You done, or…?" he let his question trail off.

"Yeah, go ahead," she responded. Derek turned on the television. Hearing a faint noise, Casey turned her attention to the stairs. When it became clear that the noises were just regular sounds coming from Lizzie and Edwin's bedrooms, she tuned them out. When George and Nora came out to the living room, Derek turned to them.

"Uh, Dad, it's okay that Sam, Emily, and Ralph come over to watch the game tonight, right?" he questioned. George let out a sigh, but he wasn't **too** mad since the expression on his son's face indicated that he hadn't **meant** to invite his friends over with asking, but had really forgotten to get permission.

"Yes, it's fine," the man assured. Derek nodded in relief.

"Thanks, Dad. And I'm sorry I forgot to get your permission. I won't let it happen again," he promised.

"It's all right, son," the man told him. When it was almost time for the game to start, Sam, Emily, and Ralph showed up at the MacDonald/Venturi residence and the teens as well as Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti gathered around the t.v, as did George and Nora. In the next hour, there were cheers, shouts, and winces of pain as the game progressed. Then, suddenly, Casey sat up straight. _Did I just hear a car engine?_ She asked herself.

"Casey, what's wrong?" Sam asked, only to have his girlfriend put her finger up in the classic "Just a minute" sign. Then, she smelled it: hurricane and lightning wrapped together. That meant two vampires with the same smell were together, and there were only two other vampires that had her scent. With an excited gasp, she jumped and headed for the door. Confused, her family and friends followed her outside. Then, to their surprise, an old black mustang appeared on their street. Casey let out a squeal of excitement and had to force herself not to blur as she ran towards the car. The vehicle stopped and two men-one who appeared to be twenty-four and the other who appeared to be seventeen-stepped out of the car. Derek looked at the two with mild suspicion. Who were these guys? To his surprise, Casey let out another squeal and then ran to them.

"Stefan! Damon!" she cried, running to them. As soon as she was close enough, the older of the two swept her into his arms and twirled her around. Sam, Ralph, Emily, and the Venturis looked at each other in confusion. What was going on?


	26. Dating Game Part 2

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Well, I'm glad I could get you excited. Yeah, I figured it was about time that they show up. Well, just keep reading.

Iihrfiherb: Thanks. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Hana: Thank you. Well, read on and see.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Sorry this took so long. I got stuck on this chap for the longest time. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot and characters you don't recognize. Some slight language in this chap courtesy of Damon.

Almost oblivious to the others who were watching them, Damon set Casey back on the ground.

"Get over here," Stefan said. Casey laughed and gave the boy a hug.

"I can't believe this. What are you guys doing here?" she asked.

"We missed you. A year is too long to go without seeing you," Stefan replied.

"I missed you too," Casey admitted. _I can't believe they're actually here!_ she thought to herself.

"Which would explain your call to Katherine," Damon said.

"Well, that, and I needed permission to tell," Casey commented.

"Well, not really, but thank you," Stefan responded. _I can't believe she still checks up with us on these things. Then again, growing up in an era where women didn't have a say in anything, I can't really blame her_, he thought.

"So, Case, who are these guys?" Sam asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Casey gasped. "Guys, this is my older brothers, Stefan and Damon. Stefan, Damon, this is my step family, George Venturi and his children, Derek, Edwin, and Marti as well as our friends Emily and Ralph, and my boyfriend Sam," she continued.

"Hi," everyone chorused.

"Boyfriend?" Damon repeated. _My little sister has a boyfriend again?_ he thought to himself.

"Yes, Damon. Boyfriend. He's the one I told Katherine about," Casey confirmed. Damon narrowed his eyes and Stefan elbowed him.

"Don't scare the boy. The last thing you want is Cassandra mad at you," he warned his older brother in a tone only the vampires could hear.

"Right," the older vampire said in the same tone.

"Dudes, we're missing the game!" Ralph whined. _Who cares if Casey's suddenly reunited with her brothers? I wanna see who wins!_ he thought to himself.

"Dude, it's not even your house," Sam reminded. _Not that you had been invited in the first place_, he thought. Ralph had basically invited himself.

"Well, nevertheless, you should all get inside. It's getting cold," George told them and they all walked in. Fortunately, they hadn't missed too much of the game. Derek glanced at Casey, who had sandwiched herself between Stefan and Damon, while Sam was sitting in front of them. She looked happier than he had seen her for a long time. Sam glanced backwards as Casey, who beamed. _Wow. She looks really happy_, he thought. _I can't believe I'm actually meeting her brothers_, his thought continued. When the game was finally over, everyone stood up and stretched.

"Come on, Stefan. We gotta find us a hotel," Damon reminded.

"Yeah, I know," Stefan said. Casey made a face.

"I wish you could stay here," she complained.

"Yeah, I think that'd be just a bit crowded, Kiddo," Damon chuckled.

"You're right of course," Casey said.

"Casey, if you like, you could stay with them for however long they're here," Nora said. Casey's eyes lit up.

"Really? I can?" she asked excitedly, causing Nora to laugh at the tone.

"Yes," the woman replied. Casey squealed in delight and spun around. _Wow. She's excited_, Sam thought. But then, he couldn't blame her. She had gone practically an entire year without seeing them. Of course she'd want to spend as much time with them as she possibly could. She hurried back into the house and quickly packed, and then hurried back outside.

"I'm ready," she said,

"Come on, you goof," Damon said, pulling her close. Then, they got into his car, buckled up, and Damon drove off.

"So, do you guys even have a hotel?" Casey asked.

"Nope. We wanted to wait for you," Damon answered.

"Aw, did you miss me, Damon?" Casey teased.

"Of course not. I just wanted to do **this**," Damon replied. He revved the engine and sped off.

"YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! GO, GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!" Casey cheered and Stefan laughed. Like her older brothers, Casey was a complete speed freak. When they finally reached a hotel, Damon stopped the car.

"Wait here," he said, earning him two "Yeah, right" looks from his younger siblings. The three of them headed for the entrance, walked in, and approached the front desk, which was being manned by a fairly decent looking guy in his late twenties.

"Hi. I'd like to rent a room," Damon said. The man looked from Damon, to Stefan, and finally to Casey. Then, he turned to Damon.

"Nice," he approved with a leer and a knowing wink.

"We're siblings, dumb ass," Damon responded.

"Right. If that's the way you wanna play it," the man assured, with another wink.

"Can I eat him?" Casey asked in Italian.

"No," Stefan and Damon chorused.

"But he **has** lost business," Damon declared, and as one, the Salvatore siblings turned, walked out, and went to their car. Then, they continued on. When they reached another hotel, Damon went inside, got the room, and then came back out.

"We got one room. Told him that we were all siblings. No eating necessary," he said and Stefan hid a grin. Then, they all got their suitcases and Stefan and Casey followed Damon into a room. Back at the MacDonald/Venturi residence, George turned to Nora in surprise.

"Why did you just let her go off? I mean, sure she's a vampire, but she's still under your care," he said. _We'd never let Derek or any of the other kids act this way. Casey shouldn't be getting special treatment just because she's different_, he thought to himself.

"George, Casey is 141 years old. I **really** have no business telling her what to do," Nora responded. George blinked in surprise. _141 years old? I know she said she was a vampire, but I thought it was a recent thing_, he thought.

"But she looks like she's fifteen," he said.

"I know," came the reply.

"So this Giuseppe person?" George asked.

"Her father's been dead for a century," Nora responded.

"Whoa," George mumbled. _This is a bit much. I honestly thought that she was around Derek's age_, he thought. While Nora and George continued to talk, Derek pulled Sam into the kitchen.

"What's up, man?" he asked.

"I need your help," came the response. Sam looked at Derek in confusion.

"With what?" he wondered.

"It's Kendra. I mean, we've been hanging out a lot, and lately, I've been…" Derek started to say.

"Been?" Sam prompted. "Been, you know…feeling kind of…**different** around her," he answered.

"'Different'," Sam repeated. "Dude, admit it, you've fallen for her," he chuckled. Derek glared and then gave a sheepish grin.

"Yeah, I've fallen for her," he confessed.

"So, what's the problem?"

"How do I get her to see that this is different from my previous dating stints? I need to woo her."

"Did you just seriously say 'woo'?"

"That's what happens when you rededicate yourself to your schoolwork." Sam chuckled.

"Look, man. Of course I'll help you. Meet me at school tomorrow…early…and we'll talk." Derek nodded and the two slapped five. Then, Sam went back to the living room, grabbed Ralph and pushed the boy to his car, as he Emily went home and his mother showed up a few minutes later to bring him home. Ralph drove off. The next morning, Sam and Derek met at Sir John Thompson Sparrow High.

"Okay, so what is it about Kendra that's attracting you to her?" Sam wondered.

"She tells the funniest jokes, she's sweet, she's nice to practically **everybody**, and not to mention…she's easy on the eyes," Derek answered. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Well, first of all, you don't tell her that last reason," he reminded his friend. Then, "What does she like? I mean, what's she interested in?"

"Well, besides harnessing her powers, she likes to listen to music, she's serious about her studies kinda like Casey, but she also knows how to have a good time. When she's concentrating really hard on something, she bites her lower lip, her favorite colors are green and blue-she wears them all the time, she likes Mac and cheese, but not the cafeteria cooked Mac and cheese, her music taste is all over the spectrum, but rock and roll is her favorite, her favorite children's books are _Peter Pan_ and _Treasure Island_, and her favorite teen books are _A Walk To Remember_ and _Speak_, and…" Sam hid a grin as Derek continued listing all that he had noticed about Kendra. _He's got it bad_, he thought. A few minutes later, other students trickled into the school and the two went to their homeroom. To their surprise, Casey was almost late.

"What happened? Did you oversleep?" Sam asked.

"Nope. Just hanging out with Stefan and Damon," Casey answered, sitting in the seat next to him. Sam nodded and then let his gaze linger on his girlfriend's outfit: a plain pink t-shirt with a light green jacket and pale blue jeans, a little more casual than she would normally pick out for herself, but still portrayed her personality. Casey grinned.

"New outfit. You like?" she teased. Sam chuckled and nodded. She leaned over and kissed him on the lips.

"Hey!" Derek exclaimed. Casey let out a small laugh.

"Take it easy, Bro," she teased.

"What is with you today?" Derek asked in surprise and with some concern. _Did someone do something to her?_ he wondered.

"Sorry. I tend to get more relaxed and a bit hyper when the three of us are together," Casey apologized in a soft tone. Well that and she had had to drink some of Damon's stash which was human instead of animal like she had been drinking since she had arrived in Ontario.

"It's okay," Derek answered. Casey turned to her schoolwork and double checked everything. After home room, they went to their history class, where Casey absentmindedly took notes. The man glanced at the girl, but brushed aside her inattentiveness. She was normally one of the ones who paid the utmost attention, and was probably just having an off day. When lunch time came, the kids went into the cafeteria and got their lunches.

"Hey, Sam, what do you say we eat somewhere a little private today?" Casey asked coyly, causing her boyfriend to look at her in confusion. _I'm not sure what's going on, but I think I like it_, he thought.

"I wouldn't complain," he responded. With that, the two walked out just as Kendra walked up to Derek's table.

"Hi," she greeted. _'Hi'? That sounded so lame!_ she thought.

"Hey," he responded. _'Hey'? That's the best you could come up with?_ he chided himself. "Uh-would you like to sit down?" he invited, pointing an empty spot.

"Thanks," she said, taking the spot. Ralph and Emily smirked at each other. This was gonna be interesting.

"So, uh, how was the game last night?" Kendra asked.

"We won of course," Derek answered. Kendra laughed. Then, along with Derek, "Hey would you-" they laughed. Sensing what was about to happen, Emily stood up, pulling Ralph with her.

"Come on. Let's give them a little privacy," she suggested.

"But my lunch!" he objected.

"Take it with you!" she told him. Grumbling, he grabbed his tray. He hated eating lunch on the go.

"I'm sorry. What were you going to say?" Kendra queried.

"Ladies first," Derek insisted. Kendra hesitated. _Why am I so nervous? I've asked out guys before_, she thought. Then again, this wasn't just any guy. It was Derek, a boy she had been crushing on for about a year now even though she had tried to hide it.

"Um…I was wondering if maybe sometime this week, you'd like to go out and grab a bite?" she asked.

"You mean like a date?" Derek asked, trying not to sound too eager. _She feels the same way? Yes!_ he thought happily. _Oh, he doesn't feel the same way_, Kendra thought, her heart dropping.

"Well, if it doesn't have to be a date if-" Kendra began to say.

"I would love to go out on a date with you," Derek interrupted.

"Really?" Kendra asked. Derek nodded and she laughed.

"I gotta go find Emily!" she squealed and then took off and it was Derek's turn to laugh. Meanwhile, Sam and Casey had gone to a deserted part of the hall and had just finished lunch.

"I guess we should head back," Sam said, starting to stand.

"We could," Casey said, pulling him down. "Or…we could stay for a few minutes," she suggested, moving closer.

"And do what?" Sam asked, his brow furrowing.

"This," Casey replied before kissing him. Sam moaned. That felt good. Casey gently pushed him back and let her hands roam around his upper body. He pulled away and grabbed her hands.

"Wait. Are you sure about this? I mean, we've only kissed before," he reminded.

"I'm sure. I'm ready to go a little farther," she answered. Then, she once again pushed him back, being careful not to use her full strength and resumed kissing him, letting her hands roam once more. Sam moaned and let his hands do the same. Soon, the world faded as they got lost in each other.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Casey and Sam only make out, no sex.


	27. Dating Game Part 3

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thanks. That's explained in this chap. Well, read on and see. Well, control's not really an issue since they've been going back and forth between blood diets ever since they turned, it just has different effects each vampire. Thanks, glad you liked it. Yeah, I'm a Dasey fan too, but I suck at writing it. Sadly, I think you're going to be disappointed in that regard for the time being. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Hhnfwrn: Thanks, glad you liked it. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot. I use a variation of a Damon line here, and I use a Damon line verbatim.

Sam wasn't sure how long they had been making out, but he knew that he was disappointed when the warning bell for the next class rang. He groaned and went about making himself more presentable and Casey quickly did the same. Then, they both went to their classes. After school, instead of going back to Nora's, Casey instead went to the hotel where her brothers were. Stefan raised an eyebrow when his younger sister merely walked into the room without knocking.

"We could've been completely naked," he pointed out.

"And if I had seen something unfamiliar, I would've thrown a dollar at it," she shot back. Stefan rolled his eyes while Damon bit back a grin. _That's my girl_, he thought with a bit of pride. Though, he had to admit, he would've been a bit embarrassed if she had caught him in a compromising position. "Now then, why aren't Katerina, Pearl, and Anna here?" she asked, switching to Italian.

"They're still in hiding, but Katerina was worried about you after she heard from Rose that Elijah showed up," Damon answered, also in Italian.

"If you mean she was worried about me shutting down and going off with him, no way in hell after he handed us to Klaus," Casey replied, still in Italian.

"Cassandra, that's not what he meant and you know it," Stefan reprimanded, also in Italian. Casey sighed.

"Sorry, Damon," she murmured in English.

"It's okay, little sis," he replied in the same language. "So, then, this boy, Sam…whom I can smell all over you by the way…is he good to you?" he asked. Casey laughed and ducked her head.

"Yeah. He makes me feel human again," she admitted. Her brothers smiled softly. They knew that she sometimes missed being human.

"I'm glad," Stefan told her.

"So, let's see. The three of us are together; I don't have to do my homework until tonight…what should we do?" Casey questioned. The three looked at each other. One-by-one, they grinned. Then, they all headed for Damon's car. Minutes later, they were all at a club, which Stefan and Casey had gotten into through compulsion and dancing to loud rock music. Casey danced in between her brothers, who twirled her around. _Yeah! Now this is what I call a good time!_ she thought to herself. There was no way she could party like this with Sam or the others. It wasn't really their thing. Not that they didn't know how to have a good time, but she couldn't really cut loose with them. Meanwhile, Derek was in his room, trying to figure out where he could take Kendra on a date. He wanted their first date to be something special and memorable. So, what could he do? _Aw, heck. I'll just call her and set up a day and time and then worry about it_, he thought and grabbed his cell phone and began dialing the girl's number. Back at Rose's apartment, Kendra was trying to figure out the same thing.

"What can we do that would make our first date special?" the girl wondered.

"I think that's something you two will have to figure out for yourselves," Rose replied. "Have you agreed on a day and time for this date?" she asked.

"Well, no, but if the idea's out there, I should be ready for any day and time that he chooses," came the response.

"All right, just calm down," Rose told her. "Take a deep breath, and just wait until he calls you or something," the woman told her. Before she could say more, her phone started ringing.

"Who could that be?" Kendra wondered. Rose shrugged but answered the phone. She listened for a few minutes. Then, she held the phone out to Kendra. "It's for you. It's Derek," she announced. Biting her lip, Kendra took the phone.

"Hi," she greeted nervously.

"Hey, um, about the date that we talked about-" Derek started to say. _Okay, remember, don't scare her or tick her off. You don't wanna get burned before your first date_, he reminded himself.

"Yeah?" Kendra asked.

"Well, what would you say to going out tonight at eight?" Derek wondered.

"I'd say that'd be awesome," Kendra told him.

"Great," Derek said and then hung up.

"So, tonight at eight, huh?" Rose asked.

"Yeah," Kendra answered. Then, "Oh, gosh! I've got nothing to wear!" Rose laughed as the girl began frantically looking through her clothes.

"All right. Hold on. I'm certain we can find something," the woman assured, walking over to her. Rose peered at the clothes in Kendra's closet. "I've got it," she announced. The younger girl watched as her friend pulled out a yellow top and white jeans. "Casual-dressy. Perfect for a first date because then you're ready for anything," she said.

"Jewelry and things?" Kendra wondered.

"Your gold heart earrings with your silver pendant necklace. It gives you some color and plays up your femininity," Rose answered.

"Yeah. I like that," Kendra approved, getting the jewelry. Back at the MacDonald/Venturi residence, Derek was also looking through his closet. _Man! This is harder than I thought it'd be_, he thought to himself. Why was he acting like such a girl? Finally, he decided to wear a nice white shirt with jeans that way she'd be able to see that he was taking the date seriously, but he'd still be in something comfortable. While this all going on, Casey, Damon, and Stefan were still in the club having a good time.

"So, how long are you guys here for anyways?" Casey wondered.

"Unfortunately, not very long. We **still** have to be careful," Damon replied and Casey sighed in disappointment.

"Okay," she said.

"Hey, we hate it too," Stefan told her.

"So, when do you leave?" Casey asked.

"Probably early in the morning," Damon responded and the girl made a face. "But…in the meantime…we rock and roll," he added. His younger siblings laughed and their merriment continued. Later that night, Derek went to Rose's to pick up Kendra. Then, he took her to a semi-nice restaurant known as _Gracie's_ and they were led to a booth.

"Wow. Have you ever been here before?" Kendra asked.

"Once or twice with the family, but other than that, no," Derek answered.

"Oh, wow," Kendra stated. _I had thought he'd bring a lot of dates here. I mean, heck, it's nice, but also down to Earth_, she thought.

"Most girls were good with Smelly Nelly's and said to say, I was big enough jerk to not care what kind of effort I put into it," Derek told her. "But that's changed," he hastened to add.

"I know," Kendra said. They turned to their menus just as a waiter came up.

"Hello, I'm Josh. I'll be your waiter this evening," the man said. "Can I start you off with anything to drink?" he asked Derek.

"Kendra, what would you like?" he questioned.

"I'll just have some water, thank you," she said and the man turned to Derek.

"Regular coke please," the boy told him.

"Of course. I'll bring them right out," came the response. Then, he walked away and Kendra and Derek looked at each other.

"Okay, apparently, he's the type that's used to the man ordering for everyone," Kendra stated.

"Sorry about that. Do you want me to ask for a new waiter?" Derek asked.

"Nah, it's cool. We can deal," Kendra answered.

"Are you sure? Because I don't mind doing it. I want you to have a good time and if this guy's gonna prevent that…" Derek's voice trailed off as Kendra shook her head.

"It's totally cool," she assured. "Besides, if he gets **too** bad, I can just use my magic on him," she added and they both laughed.

"I guess that's true," he chuckled. Josh came back with their drinks.

"Well, I don't know about you, Kendra, but I'm ready to order," Derek said.

"I'm ready too," Kendra assured.

"Ladies first," Derek said.

"Thank you," Kendra grinned. "I'll have a Cesar Chicken Salad and a pasta bowl," she told him.

"And I'll have the spare rib and mashed potatoes," Derek said.

"Coming right up," Josh said, taking the menus. Then, he went to get the orders filled. Minutes later, their entrees came and they dug in, talking and laughing. Meanwhile, Damon, Stefan, and Casey had finally gotten tired of the club and headed back to the hotel room.

"I wish you guys could stay," Casey admitted, sitting on the bed.

"We know, Kiddo. We do too," Damon said.

"Yeah, we've missed having our little sister with us," Stefan added, sitting down next to her.

"Do you think it'll ever be safe for us again?" Casey wondered.

"Of course. We won't have to hide forever. Katherine just wants to make sure that those hunters didn't have any friends that could try to finish what they started," Damon answered.

"I know," Casey murmured.

"But it's hard, right?" Stefan surmised and Casey nodded.

"Yeah, I mean, it helps to have Rose here, but she can't walk in the day and I just...I miss **you**," Casey told them.

"We miss you too," Stefan said.

"Okay, if you girls are done caring and sharing, we really need to make sure we have everything ready to go," Damon stated, earning him a glare from his younger siblings. He then began rummaging through his suitcase, making sure he had everything.

"This from the guy who cried when he first saw with _Gone With The Wind_?" Casey asked.

"Shut up!" Damon snarled as Stefan started laughing.

"Dude, I forgot about that!" he snickered.

"For the last time, I was **not** crying because of the movie. I was crying because Katherine had accidentally smacked me in the eye," their older brother told them.

"Uh-huh. Sure," they chorused. Damon just growled at them and continued his check to make sure everything was packed. Presently, Stefan began to do the same. When they were finally done, they all got in the car and took her back to Nora's.

"I wish you didn't have to go," she moped.

"We'll be back for your birthday," her oldest brother promised.

"Really?" she asked, her face lighting up.

"Of course. We wouldn't miss **that**," her other brother answered. She laughed and clapped excitedly, causing the boys to shake their heads in amusement. However, they couldn't fault her. Their time **had** been too short. Unfortunately, it was necessary. They couldn't take the risk of someone trying to hurt or kill Casey again. Stefan and Damon took Casey back to Nora's and then gave her one last hug.

"The rest of the year will go by fast. You'll see," Damon said.

"Not," Casey responded.

"What, are we in the nineties now?" Damon chuckled, causing Casey to throw him a dirty look.

"What? The nineties weren't **that** bad," Stefan protested.

"No, but the grunge look didn't suit you, little brother," Damon responded.

"Yeah, you looked like a bum," Casey added. Stefan swatted her on the back of her head. The two boys got into Damon's car, and then took off as Casey waved at them until they were no longer in sight. Then, she went downstairs to her room. Meanwhile, at Gracie's, Kendra and Derek had finished their dinner and were laughing as they ate a dessert.

"So then I picked up the frog, fully intending to put it back in the stream, when I tripped over a rock, causing the frog to slip from my hands. It sailed through the air and landed in the counselor's hot chocolate," Derek finished. Kendra let out a loud laugh.

"That is hilarious," she stated. Then, Josh came back.

"Here's your check," the man said, and Derek pulled out some money and gave it to the man. Then, the two teens stood up and walked out of the restaurant and to Derek's car. He held open the passenger door and she got in the seat and put her belt on. Then, he got into the driver's seat, started the car, and then drove off. He took Kendra back to Rose's house.

"I had a really good time," he told her.

"Me too," she answered. "I hope we can do it again soon."

"Same here," he responded. She leaned over and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. Then, she ran inside. He waited until he was sure she was safely in, and then he headed back home. When he got back to his house, he parked the car and then headed into the house and straight for his room where he turned on his stereo and flopped onto his bed. As he recalled the date, his lips curved into a pleased grin. He and Kendra had had a blast. He couldn't **wait** to see her again.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

And there you have the end of Season 2. It may seem like an odd stopping point, but it felt right to me.


	28. Wanting Derek Part 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thank you. Aw, never fear. That's not the last you'll see of Stefan and Damon in this reality. Hope you enjoy this chap as well. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Rewrite of "Two-Timing Derek". Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own characters you don't recognize and the plot. I forgot to mention it in "Dating Game" but Ralph doesn't know Casey's a vampire because he and Emily went home before George and Nora had their talk. And I'm still looking for someone to do a trailer for this story, if anyone's interested. Special thanks to Dark-Supernatural-Angel for their advice and help on these next chaps.

Derek, Kendra, Sam, Casey, Ralph, and Emily walked down the steps of the school entrance. Derek and Kendra held hands while Casey had her arm wrapped around Sam's waist. Kendra leaned into Derek, who glanced at her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I've had this weird feeling all day that someone's been watching us," she complained.

"Yeah, I felt it too," Casey added.

"Did you see anyone?" Sam asked and his girlfriend shook her head.

"Well, I'm sure it's nothing," Derek said, squeezing Kendra's shoulders. She smiled and leaned into him again. Emily glanced at Ralph.

"Looks like we're the odd ones out," Ralph commented.

"Yeah," Emily agreed with a soft, sad smile. Sure, it was nice to have Derek as a friend, but sometimes she wished she could **have** Derek…like Kendra had him. _Oh come on, Emily. Get it together. Three years ago, you didn't even have his friendship_, she reminded herself. Then, they all went their separate ways and went to their own houses. Once home, Derek plopped himself in front of the television and turned it on as Casey sat on the couch and started a reading assignment. Minutes later, George and Nora came walking in with Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti at their heels. Seeing the scene, George shook his head. He'd never understand how Casey could concentrate with background noise. However, the teens seemed to have a routine and a way to get things done. Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti went upstairs as George went to his bedroom to look over some papers, while Nora spread out some design sheets on the coffee table. Seeing this, Derek instantly went to turn the television off.

"You're fine. It's at a reasonable volume," Nora assured.

"You sure?" Derek asked.

"Yes," Nora responded and then turned to her work. Derek settled back in his chair as eerie music began to play.

"Man lives in the sunlit world of what he believes to be reality," a narrator said. Casey looked up.

"Ooooh! _Tales From The Darkside_! We used to love this show when it first came out," she said. Nora glanced up at the screen and smiled. She had memories of this show as well. "Oh! _Mookie And Pookie!_ This was the sweetest episode!" Casey continued, putting her textbook aside as Nora did the same thing with her designs. Derek turned the volume up slightly and soon the trio was engrossed in the show. Half an hour later, the episode ended and Nora and Casey returned to their work as Derek lowered the volume. It turned out that it was a marathon and once in a while, Nora and Casey would stop their work to watch an episode before resuming what they were doing. Presently, Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti came down.

"What are you watching?" Lizzie wondered.

"_Tales From The Darkside_, the episode _Grandma's Last Wish_," Derek replied.

"Is it a new show?" Edwin asked.

"No, it first came on the air in the early eighties," Casey replied.

"Oh, wow," Lizzie said as she and Edwin made themselves comfortable. Meanwhile, at her own house, Emily was doing her homework. At least, she was trying to. Her mind kept drifting to Derek. _I'm glad he's found someone who can make him happy, but sometimes I wish that someone could be me_, she thought. While Emily was in her room, Kendra was in the room Rose had set up for her. _Man, I can't believe my parents did this!_ she thought to herself. Almost as if Rose had heard the thought, the older woman opened the door.

"How are you holding up?" she asked.

"Lousy," came the response. "When Mom called me up, I figured, you know-she and Dad had come to their senses-but to completely cut me out and then say that I wasn't their daughter-" her voice trailed off.

"I am sorry. I know you were hoping to reconcile with them," Rose apologized.

"At least your friend Katherine was able to get guardianship papers for us," Kendra said with a sigh.

"Yes. You can always count on her," Rose stated with a nod. _Leave it to Katerina to have her hands in everything even when she's hiding_, she thought to herself. "Now then, I'll leave to your schoolwork and after words, we'll work on the banishing spell that's been giving you trouble," she continued and the younger girl grumbled good-naturedly. Meanwhile, Sam was in his room, sitting on his bed, mulling over what Kendra and Casey had told them. _Who would be watching us? And why? Is it a vampire thing again?_ he wondered nervously. And if so, would he be able to protect Casey? He sighed. Who was he kidding? Casey could protect herself. With a small grin, he reached down to where his backpack was, got out his schoolbooks, and started doing his homework. When he was done several hours later, he went to bed. Early the next morning, the MacDonald/Venturi residence got up, got dressed, and then went to the ice-skating rink, where walked up to the line to get skates.

"Are you sure you'll be skate to skate? I mean, you'll have to go pretty slow to keep up appearances, won't you?" Derek asked in a whisper

"Yes, it's more fun when I can blur, but I'll be fine, Derek," Casey answered in the same tone.

"Okay," he replied. Soon it was their turn to buy their skates.

"Hi, Derek," a classmate of theirs, Vanessa Coolridge, greeted shyly. Then, she winced internally. _Idiot! He's not going to know who you are!_ she berated herself. And why should he? He was the king of the school, while she, with her wire-framed glasses, mousy brown hair, and plain t-shirts and slacks, was a mere nerd at that school. In fact, if it wasn't for her recent discovery of her heritage, she would've resigned herself to her fate. Still, you couldn't be forward with a guy like Derek.

"Hey, Vanessa," Derek acknowledged. As George paid for the skates, they all missed Vanessa's eyes widening in shock. _He knows my name! I don't believe this!_ she thought. Maybe there was hope after all. However, she kept this hope to herself as she watched the family go out on the ice. What would it be like to have Derek as a boyfriend? _Vanessa was sitting on one of the school stairwells studying for a test, when someone took the textbook away from her._

_ "Hey!" she exclaimed, looking up. Then, "Oh, Derek," she said softly._

_ "Will you relax, baby? I told you before, you're going to ace this test," Derek scolded, pulling her up. Then, he drew her close to him and-_

"Miss?" Vanessa shook her head and saw a man at the counter.

"Sorry," she apologized. She took the payment for the skates and refocused her attention on her work. When it was time for her break, she glanced at Derek who was laughing as he spun his younger sister, Marti, around. _Aw, she's so good with her_, she thought to herself. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that she had only had a small breakfast that morning and she went to the concession stand. An exclamation of surprise caused her to turn around. Her mouth dropped. Kendra Collins was hugging Derek! _I would've thought that they had broken up by now. Neither of them do long-term relationships_, Vanessa thought. Ignoring her need for food, she walked closer to them so that she was in hearing distance.

"I didn't know you were coming here," she heard Derek say. _His girlfriend doesn't even let him know her plans? How inconsiderate_, Vanessa thought.

"Well, it was real last minute. Rose thought it'd be good for me to blow off some steam," Kendra replied. Vanessa's brows furrowed. Who was Rose? Another relative?

"What happened?" Derek asked in concern. Kendra hesitated.

"Could we not talk about it here? It's not exactly a private place," she reminded.

"Of course," he agreed. "But we will talk?" She nodded. Vanessa let out a huff. What was Kendra thinking? She had a **very** attentive boyfriend who wanted to hear about her problems and she just blew him off? What was wrong with her? With a roll of her eyes, she went to get her food, all the while keeping an eye on the couple. On the rink, Casey looked up. Someone was watching them. But who? Discreetly, she looked around, trying to see if she could catch the scent. However, it was to no avail. There were too many scents for her to accurately pinpoint who was watching them. Kendra shivered.

"Are you okay?" Derek asked softly.

"I've got that weird feeling again. Like someone's watching us," Kendra replied. Derek pulled her close.

"Don't worry. I won't let anyone near you," he promised. Marti whimpered and clung to Edwin.

"What's wrong, Marti?" Edwin asked.

"We're being watched. I don't like it," Marti complained. Hearing the girl, Casey frowned. This wasn't the first time Marti had displayed extraordinary senses about something. The first time had been when she met Scott, and there had been a few instances after that when she had complained about someone or something going on and she had been right every time. _I wonder if there was someone on George's side of the family with some psychic abilities_, she thought. Intuition like that didn't just spring up out of nowhere. _Well, there's no danger right now. I'd know_, she thought to herself. Still, it wouldn't hurt to keep her eyes and ears open. Noting the worried look, Nora glanced at Casey, who shook her head and then mouthed the word 'Later'. The woman nodded. She trusted the girl. Besides, this probably wasn't the right place to discuss anything important. Hours later, the family went home, with Kendra calling Rose for permission to go with her boyfriend.

"Casey, I saw your face. You were looking for someone or something at some point this morning. What happened?" Nora asked.

"Someone was watching us, but I couldn't pinpoint who," Casey replied.

"What?" Nora asked in concern.

"You don't think it's like, someone after you, do you?" Derek asked.

"No, if it was a hunter, they would've struck by now," Casey replied

"But then, who could it be?" Kendra wondered.

"I don't know. But I **will** find them," Casey promised. Meanwhile, in her own house, Rose was chanting in an ancient language. Kendra had told her about her feeling that someone was watching her and she wanted to know who would be after the girl. She threw some powder into a bowl and sparks flew. To her surprise, she was instantly given the image of a young girl with wire-framed glasses, mousy brown hair, wearing a white t-shirt and tan slacks in front of what appeared to be several photos. The girl chanted something unintelligible and Rose saw her dip a potion into a cup. Rose narrowed her eyes, muttered something, and the image moved closer. Then, her eyes widened. In each and every one of the photos, was Derek. Hurriedly, the vampire pulled out of the vision.

"Well, this can't be good," she muttered to herself. Unaware of her brief audience, Vanessa smiled as she finished the spell. Soon, Derek Venturi would be all hers.


	29. Wanting Derek Part 2

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plots and characters you don't recognize. I didn't mention it in previous chaps-very remiss of me-but Rose decided to stay after talking with Kendra the first night, which is why I had her go from having a hotel to an apartment. Sorry I never put in the transition.

As Casey awoke the next morning, a strange smell reached her nostrils. _What is that?_ she wondered as she quickly got dressed and got herself some sustenance. As she came upstairs, she found that the smell was intensifying. Looking at Derek, she wrinkled her nose. There was something strange mixed in with his smell: the fire, thunder, and lightning were still there, but they smelled…dim for lack of a better term.

"Are you okay?" Derek asked.

"There's something wrong with your scent," Casey replied.

"Hey! I used deodorant!" Derek objected. Despite herself, Casey laughed.

"No, I mean your scent that marks you as you. You always smell like fire, thunder, and lightning, same as your father and siblings. However, it smells wrong this morning," she explained.

"How so?" he asked.

"It's-dim for a lack of a better term," she told him.

"Wonder what that's about," he said.

"Me too," she mused. Once they were ready, they were driven to school. Once there, they went to their homeroom. As Casey absentmindedly checked her folders to make sure she had everything, she tried to figure out what would cause his scent to diminish. _Maybe he's sick. Illness __**has**__ been known to dull a person's smell_, she theorized to herself. But if he was sick, surely he'd be showing symptoms, right? Unless it just hadn't hit him yet. It was a possibility. She blew out a breath and refocused her attention on what she was doing. Beside her, Derek leaned back in his chair. He had to admit, homeroom was a lot less stressful when he didn't have to worry about what excuse to use on teachers when he hadn't done his homework. But he wished he knew why Casey was saying that he smelled different. _It can't be good when a vampire says that you smell strange_, he thought to himself. _Well, whatever it is, I'm sure we'll figure it out_, he thought to himself. Then, he forced his mind off of the issue and onto his girlfriend. _Man, she's gorgeous. We've definitely got something special_, he thought. Then, he frowned. Their anniversary was coming up in a few months, and he wanted to do something spectacular for her, but what? Then, sighed as the class ended and they headed for history. In the hallway, Vanessa stared at Derek. How come he hadn't approached her yet? That spell should've given him a longing for her. _ I don't understand. I did everything right_, she thought to herself. She sighed. Well, she'd go say hi to him anyway. Maybe then something would spark. She quickly hurried towards him.

"Hi, Derek," she said, getting in front of him.

"Hey, Vanessa," Derek said absentmindedly. He had to find Kendra to figure out why she had been so upset the previous day.

"Are you okay?" Vanessa asked. "I mean, you look pretty worried," she continued.

"I'm looking for Kendra," Derek answered. The girl let out a small sigh of annoyance. _Really? He's still hung up on her?_ she thought.

"Well, I haven't seen her, but if I see her, I'll tell her you're looking for her," she stated.

"Thanks," Derek said, finally looking at her. Something sparked inside him. _Wow! She's really cute!_ he thought. _What am I thinking? I'm in love with Kendra_, he reminded himself. Then, he hurried to his next class.

"Whoa. Majorly weird," he muttered to himself as he sat down.

"You okay, man?" Ralph asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Derek answered. There was no way he could tell Ralph what had just happened. He wouldn't understand. Then, Mr. Steiner came in and the boy forced himself to pay attention. He'd have to figure this out later. As soon as the class was out, Derek approached Casey and in low tones told her what happened as they walked to their next class. She frowned.

"Sounds like a love spell," she commented.

"You mean someone put a whammy on me?" he demanded.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "But the good news is that whoever did it is probably really weak. If the spell was strong you'd be head over heels and none the wiser," she continued.

"So, what does that mean?" he wondered.

"It's either a human playing with things that they don't understand or a novice witch," she replied.

"Either way, that doesn't sound good," he grumbled.

"Don't worry. We'll figure this out," she assured him. _There's no way I'm going to let someone mess with him_, she thought to herself. Then, she headed off to her next class, where she forced herself to pay attention. However, despite her best intentions, her mind wandered. Who had cast a spell on Derek, and how come she hadn't sensed them like she had sensed Kendra? _This doesn't make sense_, she thought to herself as she absentmindedly took notes. After school, she gathered up her belongings and headed towards the entrance. _I think I need to do some recon_, she thought to herself. She needed to figure out who had placed the spell on Derek and fast. _I should probably talk to Rose. She's been keeping an eye on witch stuff ever since she took Kendra in_, her thought continued. Meanwhile, Derek had quickly hurried towards Kendra's locker.

"Hey, Der," she greeted, giving him a kiss.

"Hey," he said back. "We never got to talk yesterday. What happened?" he asked softly.

"It's just the same old thing with my parents. They don't want a freak for a daughter," she replied. "I mean, they even had the nerve to come over to Rose's house and try to pay her to say that I was insane," she continued. The boy drew his girlfriend into a hug. _Dang it! How could they do this to her?_ he wondered. Didn't they realize how much they were hurting her?

"I'm really sorry," he murmured.

"It just-it made me **so** mad," she stated.

"Hence why you had to blow off some steam," he realized. She nodded and pulled away.

"Did you just say 'hence'?" she asked.

"I live with a 141-year-old vampire. Some of the old-fashioned words are bound to rub off," he replied and they laughed. "There's that smile," he noted. "Come on, I'll wait with you until Rose appears," he offered.

"That'd be great, thanks," she said and they walked out. To their surprise, Casey was already out there.

"I figured you would've gone home by now," Derek said.

"I need to talk to Rose," Casey said.

"Well, you can ride with me," Kendra offered.

"Thank you," Casey responded.

"Why don't you just do whatever it is you do when you go really fast?" Derek wondered.

"Blur, Derek. We call it 'blur'," Casey reminded with a small laugh. "And besides, I'm in hiding, remember? Blurring to and from places, while convenient, is not conducive to keeping my cover," she continued.

"I guess that's true," Derek agreed. Rose's car came up and the girls got in.

"You're coming with us today?" Rose asked in surprise.

"I gotta talk about something with you," Casey stated.

"All right," Rose said and then took off. A few minutes later, George came in the Prince.

"Where's Casey?" the man asked as his son got into the car.

"She had something to talk about with Rose. I'm not sure what," Derek replied. George nodded and then drove off. When Rose got to her apartment, the trio walked in.

"Now then, Cassandra, what is so important?" Rose wondered.

"I think Derek got placed under a spell," Casey replied and told her how his scent had been dulled and what he had told her had transpired between him and Vanessa.

"What does this Vanessa look like?" Rose asked.

"She's white, mousy brown hair, horned-rimmed glasses…looks just kinda average," Kendra shrugged. Rose frowned.

"That's the girl I must've seen," she stated.

"What do you mean?" Casey asked.

"Well, after Kendra told me that she felt like someone was watching her, I did a locator spell that Emily Bennett had taught me and I saw the girl you described," Rose answered.

"What?" Casey and Kendra chorused.

"Yes. She was apparently casting a spell, though I couldn't tell what was being said," Rose stated.

"Did it look like she was doing, or was she unsure of herself?" Casey asked.

"I believe she knew what was she was doing," Rose said.

"So she's a witch," Casey determined.

"Well, if the spell didn't work as she intended, she must've come into her powers quite recently," Rose surmised.

"What does that mean?" Kendra wondered.

"A spell from a novice witch is not very powerful, which would explain why Derek didn't succumb to the spell she placed on him," Rose told her.

"So, how do we break the spell? I mean, it's not like we can just wait for this to fade, is it?" Kendra asked.

"Unfortunately, no. Though that would be convenient," Rose commented.

"Yeah," Casey agreed. Kendra blew out a breath.

"So, what do we do?" she asked.

"We must find this girl and see if we can reason with her," Rose answered.

"And if we can't, I eat her," Casey continued.

"Yeah, I think her parents would have a bit of a problem with that, Cassandra," Rose reminded.

"Yeah, all right. But I can still make sure she doesn't mess with my family," Casey agreed. Rose shook her head with a small smile. _Sometimes I don't know what I'm going to do with her_, she thought to herself.

"Or my boyfriend," Kendra added.

"All right, that's enough, you two. I understand your displeasure, but you mustn't go off half-cocked," Rose cautioned. The two younger girls rolled their eyes, but nodded in agreement. Rose was right of course. They'd do themselves no favors by losing their tempers. _I don't believe this! She actually tried to put a whammy on my boyfriend! I mean, even __**I**__ never went after a guy that was taken!_ Kendra thought to herself. Meanwhile, once he was home, Derek was doing his homework. That is, he was **trying** to do his homework. However, he couldn't get his mind off of what had happened between him and Vanessa. _Why was I attracted to her? I never have been before_, he thought. In fact, he had **never** paid any attention to her, as bad as that sounded. _So, what was up with that?_ he wondered. He blew out a breath and ran his fingers through his hair. What was he going to do? What **could** he do? What no one knew, was that Vanessa was reading the spell from the old book she had found. _I don't understand what I did wrong. It would appear that I followed this spell to the letter_, she thought to herself. At the knock on her door, she quickly hid the book.

"Come in," she called and the door opened to reveal her father, Roger Coolridge.


	30. Wanting Derek Part 3

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Yep. Well, read on and see. You'll have to read to find out. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot and characters you don't recognize.

The next morning, Derek and Casey walked into the school together.

"So, did you, Kendra, and Rose find anything out?" he asked.

"We know who the witch is," she replied.

"Really? Who?" he wondered.

"Vanessa Coolridge," she answered.

"Vanessa?" he repeated.

"Yep. Rose saw her through a locator spell," she told him.

"So, what exactly happened? I mean, I'm not crazy in love with her, so I'm assuming something went wrong," he stated.

"She's a novice. Probably just came into her powers," came the reply. "Doesn't make her any less dangerous though because novices can be unpredictable," she continued.

"Terrific," Derek said with a roll of his eyes.

"Don't worry, bro. I won't let nothin' happen to you," Casey assured, slinging an arm around his shoulders.

"Thanks, sis," Derek said reaching up to squeeze her wrist. Just then, Sam, Emily, Kendra, and Ralph walked up.

"Hey, what's up?" Kendra asked as Casey moved next to Sam as Kendra took her place by Derek.

"Not much," Derek replied. Then, they all headed for homeroom, where Derek let his mind wander. _I wonder I'd be doing if Vanessa's spell had worked_, he mused. Then, he shuddered. That was a scary thought…being with someone against his will. _I'm glad it didn't work_, he thought. As if sensing his thoughts, Kendra leaned over and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly, earning her a grateful smile. Then, he let his mind wander again, which lasted until they had to go to history, where he forced himself to pay attention. What he didn't know was that throughout the whole morning, Vanessa had been watching him. _I don't understand! According to what I read in Grandma Coolridge's journal, I did everything right, so that spell should've worked!_ she fumed. So how come it hadn't? How come Derek wasn't madly in love with her, proclaiming that he'd do anything for her? She had checked and re-checked the spell last night, and she **knew** she hadn't missed anything. She had had all the ingredients that had been required. _This is so weird! It should've worked! Derek should be mine!_ she thought, flouncing in her seat.

"Hey Case, I'm curious. How come you and Rose can't just **force** Vanessa not to like me or to leave me alone?" Derek wondered softly.

"You mean through compulsion?" Casey asked.

"Yeah," Derek answered and Kendra turned to her friend. She was pretty curious about this herself.

"Compulsion doesn't work on witches or other supernatural creatures unless you're an Original like Elijah," Casey answered. _Which, for the most part is good, because otherwise Tabitha Bennett would've been dead_, she thought to herself, recalling an incident in the 40s when the witch had fallen prey to a vicious vampire.

"So like, even if you wanted to, you couldn't compel me to do something?" Kendra asked.

"Precisely," Casey answered. "Not that I would want to," she added.

"I know," Kendra said. Then, they turned their attention back to what Mr. Steiner was lecturing about and began taking notes. After class, they went to lunch. In the cafeteria, Vanessa scanned the room until she found who she was looking for. _Derek_, she thought happily. Then, her eyes narrowed in anger when she saw Kendra. _What is he still doing with her? She doesn't appreciate him. She didn't even tell him that she was going to be at the ice rink a couple of nights ago_, she fumed. And what about Casey MacDonald and Emily Davids? Why were they so buddy-buddy with Derek and his friends all of a sudden? Just then, Sam and Ralph walked up to them and Casey threw her arms around Sam and gave him a passionate kiss. Vanessa rolled her eyes. _How embarrassing for Derek. I would __**never**__ do that to him_, she thought to herself, narrowing her eyes. Sam pulled away from Casey and laughed.

"You're crazy," he told her.

"Only about you," she responded. Then, in a tone only she and her friends could hear, "Vanessa's watching us."

"You got a plan?" Emily asked in the same tone.

"I'll come up with one," Casey assured. Then, they went through the lines, got their lunches, and sat down. Then, they began eating. For a moment, Derek watched Casey and then shook his head. _I'll never get used to the fact that she doesn't __**have**__ to eat_, he thought to himself. Then, he turned his attention to his own food. After lunch, they continued on to their next class. Casey tuned the teacher out and frowned thoughtfully. There had to be a way to get Vanessa to stop messing with Derek. But how? _Come on, Cassandra! Think!_ she berated herself. Well, the first order of business would be to figure out Vanessa's thought process on Derek. Was she just one of the many girls who had a crush on him, or was it something more serious than that? If she just had a small crush on him and had seen her newfound powers as a way to make her dreams come true, perhaps she could reason with the girl. On the other hand, if it was more serious than that, she'd have to figure out how to handle it. _But how? It's not like I can compel her, even if she __**is**__ a novice_, she thought to herself. While she was usually grateful for such things, it could possibly cause problems in this situation. She ran her fingers through her hair as her eyes clouded. Suddenly, she became aware of people leaving. _Okay, class is over_, she realized. She then gathered up her things and walked out. After school was out, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed a number.

"Hello?" she heard Rose say.

"Rose, I know you're working, so I'll make it quick. Could you meet me at the Ontario Ice-Skating rink? I believe Vanessa has a shift there tonight," she requested.

"What's going on? Have you found out something?" Rose queried.

"No, I haven't found out anything new, but I'm still going to take care of it," Casey replied.

"Of course I'll meet you there after work," Rose answered.

"Good. See you then," Casey stated, gave her the directions to the place, and then hung up. Rose stared at the phone. _After thirty or forty years of using a cell phone, you think I'd be used to her hanging up without saying 'Goodbye'_, she thought to herself and then went back to typing up the file she had been working on. _It's a good thing I decided to learn different skills over the years_, her thought continued. Then, she focused her thoughts on her task. A couple of hours later, she was done and she went out to her car and then drove to the establishment. Then, she walked in and was met by Casey.

"You got here fast," Rose commented.

"I blurred here," Casey replied. "Come on. Let's go find Vanessa," she stated. With that, they headed for the counters.

"I don't see her," Rose stated.

"No, neither do I," Casey mused. They walked up to one of the workers.

"Hello. Do you think you could help us find someone?" Rose queried.

"Who are you looking for?" the boy asked in a bored tone.

"Vanessa Coolridge," Casey replied.

"Oh, she called in sick tonight," the boy answered in the same tone.

"Where does she live?" Casey asked.

"Sorry. Can't give you that information," the boy told her. Casey leaned forward so that she was looking at him straight in the eyes.

"You're going to tell us where Vanessa lives. Afterwards, you won't even remember talking to us. As far as you're concerned, you never saw us," she said, her pupils dilating.

"4589 Calvary Road on Basil Street," the boy informed them in a monotone.

"Thank you," Casey said and she and Rose walked out as the boy continued to take payment for skate rentals, completely unaware of what had just transpired. Casey and Rose got into Rose's car and drove to the address. To their surprise, the house was completely dark except for a single light.

"That must be Vanessa's room," Casey noted.

"Most likely," Rose agreed.

"Do you think we should've asked Kendra to come?" Casey asked.

"She's got homework," Rose replied. "Besides, do you really want a teenage witch who's worried about her boyfriend going up against the other teenage witch who's trying to **steal** her boyfriend?" she pointed out.

"Yeah, that probably wouldn't end up well," Casey agreed. Then, she rang the doorbell and a few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a woman who shared Vanessa's features.

"Hi, Mrs. Coolridge. I'm Casey MacDonald, and this is my tutor, Rose Laramie. I don't know if Vanessa remembered to mention it, but we have a study session together," Casey said.

"Why don't you two come on in?" Tina Coolridge invited and the two walked in. "And Vanessa **didn**'**t** say anything to me about her study session, but she's been so secretive lately that I'm not surprised," the woman continued.

"Secretive, how?" Rose queried.

"She stays locked up in her room for all hours, she's not talking to us like she used to, she's become even more withdrawn…if I didn't know my own daughter better, I'd say she had turned to drugs or something, but I'm almost positive that's not it," Mrs. Coolridge replied.

"Maybe we can talk to her. Tell her that you're worried," Casey offered.

"That'd be great. Thank you," the woman said. "Her room's down the hall on the right."

"Thank you." The two walked to the indicated room. As they approached, both girls could hear Vanessa whispering in a foreign language.

"Oh, this isn't good," Casey muttered.

"If we're right and she **is** a new witch, that spell is **much** too powerful for her," Rose agreed in the same tone. Casey forced open the door and Vanessa turned around.

"What do you think you're doing, Vanessa?" Casey asked.

"I did the spell right and it didn't work. I need to fix it. I need to make Derek mine," Vanessa answered. Then, she continued with the spell.

"Cassandra, do you smell that?" Rose asked in Italian. The girl nodded. Like Rose, Casey could smell a spark of power. However, it was very faint.

"She has a witch's bloodline, but she's not active," the younger vampire replied in the same language.

"Vanessa, you need to stop. You'll hurt yourself," Rose said.

"I'll be fine. I can do this, I'm a witch," Vanessa insisted.

"No you're not. You may have the bloodline, but you are **not** active. The powers will destroy you if you don't stop," Casey told her. Vanessa's eyes flashed. _How dare she try to stop me? _ _She doesn't know anything about me!_ she thought indignantly. She said something in a foreign language and Kendra and Casey flew back hitting the wall.

"Vanessa, are you okay up there?" a male voice asked.

"I'm fine, Dad," Vanessa answered and then repeated the phrase, pinning the two vampires. Casey and Rose both tried to move, but found that they couldn't. To their surprise, Vanessa's mother and father ran into the room.

"Vanessa, what are you doing?" Mr. Coolridge asked.

"Don't worry, Daddy. I can take care of this," Vanessa replied. She started to repeat the phrase, but her father cut her off with his own spell, causing his wife, daughter, and the vampires to stare at him in surprise.

"Vanessa, you need to stop. You have no powers," the man stated.

"But Grandma was a witch! It's in her journal! And you have powers!" she exclaimed.

"If you were active, I would've felt it," he told her.

"But-but-" Vanessa's voice trembled. She wasn't a witch? She didn't have any powers? That was why the spell didn't work? "It's not fair! I love him! I want him to love me!"

"Oh, honey, if you **were** active, I wouldn't let you perform a love spell. Those are much too unpredictable," her father told her. The girl's chin trembled and she began to cry. The man took his daughter in his arms and made little shushing noises, all the while taking notice of the numerous pictures of Derek.

"I-I-I had no idea about any of this. I-" Mrs. Coolridge's voice trailed off.

"I think this is a family matter," Casey said.

"We'll be going," Rose told them.

"I'm real sorry about any problems this may have caused. If I had known-" Mr. Coolridge began to apologize.

"It's quite all right," Rose assured him.

"I'll be sure to talk about everything," the man said. Then, the two vampires left, Rose dropping Casey off at her house, and then going to her own place.

"Where have you been?" Derek wondered as she came in.

"Dealing with Vanessa," Casey responded.

"I assume everything turned out okay?" Derek questioned.

"Yeah. It turned out that she had a witch's bloodline but wasn't active, which made using spells dangerous, but it all worked out," Casey answered.

"What do you mean she wasn't active?" Derek wondered.

"She has no powers of her own. She was just using spells that she found in her grandmother's journal. And if someone without powers performs a spell, there's not much of an effect," Casey explained. Back at her apartment, Rose had explained the same thing to Kendra.

"So, she was just a girl with a crush who thought she had found a way to get the guy she liked to notice her?" Kendra asked.

"Precisely," Rose confirmed. Kendra let out a small scoff.

"Wow. I almost feel sorry for her," she said.

"Yes, I know what you mean," the woman said and the two fell silent.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

And that's it for this ep. And as for Vanessa, I just wanted to convey that she had a deep crush on Derek, which she took a bit far, but wasn't like 'Fatal Attraction' obsessed.


	31. Interlude 3

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Well, after all the Kendra drama, I wanted to show the other side of the coin. Yeah, Vanessa got a bit over the top there. Thank you. Well, read on and see.

DISCLAIMER

This interlude takes place during "Fright Night" but won't deal with the whole episode. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot and characters you don't recognize.

Hearing the strains of eerie theme music, Casey walked up the stairs to find Derek and Edwin watching a horror movie and eating popcorn.

"What on Earth is this?" she asked.

"_Curse Of Evil Part 9: Gruekor's Revenge_," Derek answered. Casey rolled her eyes.

"Uck. I hate contemporary horror movies. No sense of style," she complained. Derek and Edwin turned to her in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me?" Derek asked.

"_The Curse Of Evil_ movies are classic!" Edwin added. Casey started to respond, but was cut off by a small squeak. Turning, she saw Lizzie huddled under a blanket.

"Der-ek! You're letting Lizzie watch this! You know she scares easily!" she exclaimed sharply.

"She said she could handle it," Derek responded.

"I'm fine," Lizzie insisted. However, they could all hear the fright in her voice. Derek immediately grabbed the remote and started to press the 'off' button!

"No! Derek! I wanna watch it!"

"Ed, look what it's doing to Lizzie!"

"I'm-I'm okay. Honest." They all fixed her with a look. "Okay, okay. It freaked me out." Once again, Derek went to turn the movie off. "No! I'll just go upstairs!" she told him. Then, she did exactly that, with Casey at her heels. "I guess that was pretty stupid, huh?"

"It wasn't the brightest decision you've ever made, I'll give you that."

"If Mom finds out that I did that to myself, she'll flip. And…I'm probably going to have nightmares." Casey watched as Lizzie's eyes clouded.

"I can fix that." Lizzie's brows furrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you don't have vervain in your system right now, so if you give me your necklace, I can make it like you never watched any of the movie."

"You mean, compelling me to forget?"

"If you want me to."

"I think that's a good idea." Lizzie unfastened her necklace and handed it to Casey who stared deeply into the younger girl's eyes. "You never watched _Curse Of Evil_. When it came on, you went up stairs and listened to one of your c.d.s. You won't have any nightmares and you won't remember feeling frightened."

"When _Curse Of Evil_ came on, I went upstairs and listened to one of my c.d.s," Lizzie intoned. Then, Casey took out one of Lizzie's c.d.s, put it in the player, pressed play, and then handed Lizzie her necklace. Then, the older girl went downstairs.

"She okay?" Derek asked in concern.

"Yeah. She let me compel her into forgetting that she ever watched this," Casey replied.

"Are you sure that's wise? I mean, what if it fades?" Derek asked.

"My powers are still strong enough where that won't happen," Casey assured.

"Okay," Derek accepted. "And I **am** sorry. I mean, she said she could handle it."

"It's okay." Casey went back down to her room as Derek and Edwin continued to watch the movie. Soon, Derek became re-engrossed in the movie and had forgotten all about what had happened.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

And that's that for _Fright Night_. Obviously, if Casey's a vampire, a measly horror movie isn't going to scare her and the rest of the episode becomes moot.


	32. 142 Candles Part 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thanks. I'm glad you liked it. Well, Casey didn't want to embarrass Lizzie who had been frightened, which is why she did it in private. That was the second time. Remember, she compelled Scott in "Crushing The Coach Part 3" to think an animal attacked him after she drained him when he tried to force himself on her.

DISCLAIMER

Sorry this took so long! For the longest time, I wasn't sure how to start this, and then when I **did** start it, I lost inspiration halfway through and I finally found some again. This is a rewrite of "Not So Sweet Sixteen" and takes place a few weeks after "Interlude 3". Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I made up the name of the hotel.

Casey woke up, got dressed, got herself some blood, drank it, grabbed a notebook and pencil, and then went upstairs and went to the kitchen where she got herself some cereal. Presently, the rest of the family came in.

"Good morning, Casey," Nora stated.

"Morning, Nora," Casey responded. _Oh, I hope Stefan and Damon will be able to be here tomorrow_, she thought to herself. Sure, they had promised to be here for her birthday, but what if something came up that prevented them from coming? It'd be weird to celebrate without them. The only other time she hadn't celebrated her birthday with her brothers had been in the twenties.

"So, how's the planning for your party tomorrow coming along?" Nora asked.

"Pretty good. It looks like we'll be able to pull it off. I mean, Rose has some old-fashioned music and I decided that everyone could come in a contemporary tux or dress and I'd just introduce and explain the dances," Casey answered.

"That's a good idea," Nora approved.

"Yeah, now if only Stefan and Damon are able to come," Casey said with a small smile.

"Well, they promised they'd come, right?" Lizzie questioned, getting her own breakfast.

"Yes, but if it's not safe, they'll stay wherever they are," Casey replied. Several minutes later, Derek and Casey grabbed their things, got into the Prince, and then drove off as George and Nora took Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti to their own schools. Once they were at Sir John Sparrow Thompson High, they were met by Sam, Ralph, Emily, and Kendra.

"Hey Case, so Rose wanted to know if you needed help setting up for the party tomorrow," Kendra stated.

"That'd actually be nice. Tell her thanks," Casey replied. _Wow. I hope everything goes well. It's been a while since I've planned a fancy party_, she thought to herself. For her, birthday parties had usually consisted of hanging out with the group, clubbing, and just watching movies. This year, however, she had felt like doing something more special and had been planning the event for weeks. She bit her lip. If she was still human, her stomach would be fluttering nervously. Oh, she wanted everything to go well! Her mind flashed back to the last time she had had such a lavish party. _Cassandra walked down the stairs and once she had reached the bottom, Elijah held out an arm, which she took._

_"You look ravishing. This era really suits you," he complimented and she grinned, flashing her fangs._ Casey shook her head. Maybe **that**'**s** why she wanted a grand party now. The last one had been in the twenties when she was with Elijah. And it hadn't exactly gone well…for her guests anyways. She and Elijah had drained and slaughtered them all. She shuddered. The twenties were **not** good memories for her.

"Casey? Are you okay?" Kendra asked.

"I'm fine, Kendra," Casey assured. Then, they continued onto homeroom. After that was over, for Casey, the day couldn't go by fast enough. She had to force herself to pay attention in history, even though she really didn't want to. At lunch, she didn't even go to get a bite to eat.

"You're not eating?" Emily asked in surprise.

"I'm bored. I want to leave," Casey replied.

"But you can't. You're the keener," Derek pointed out.

"Very funny, Derek," Casey said in Italian.

"Okay, I heard my name, but that's it," Derek stated.

"And that's all you need to know," Casey continued in Italian.

"Hey, no fair! I have no idea what you're saying!" Derek protested and Casey let out a laugh. _Oh, I forgot how much it could be confusing people with my natural language. Though, it'd be more fun if Stefan was here_, she thought to herself. She grinned. If Stefan was here, they'd go start talking in Italian, just saying goofy things. What she didn't know, was that a van holding six people were heading for Ontario.

"She's going to be so surprised," the youngest of the group said excitedly, barely holding back her excitement.

"That's the whole idea," the driver said sardonically and was hit in the arm by the person next to him. "Hey, I'm driving here!" he protested. The other passengers just rolled their eyes.

"Play nice," a woman told them.

"Yes, mother," the woman in the front passenger seat said.

"How much longer do we have?" the younger boy interjected. The older man glanced at the clock.

"Couple of hours, we'll probably get there right when they're having dinner," he answered.

"Good thing we've got plenty of sustenance in the car. That is, unless of course, you've eaten it all," the blonde-haired woman mumbled. But of course, everyone heard her.

"Oh, you're funny," the driver drawled and the younger boy rolled his eyes. _Maybe it was a bad idea for all of us to go in one car_, he thought. At this rate, they were all liable to kill each other. And that would **definitely** defeat the purpose of their visit. Back at Sir John Sparrow Thompson High, lunch had finished and Casey and her friends had gone to their next class. However, instead of taking notes on the subject, Casey was once again going over the preparations for her party the next day, though she was listening to what was being said. _Okay, I have the decorations, music, everyone's wearing a tux or a gown, the invitations have been sent out, I think that's it_, she thought to herself. Then, realizing that the teacher was calling her name, she looked up. He repeated the question and she gave the answer, and he went on, as she continued her own task. When the day was finally done, everyone went to his or her own vehicle.

"So Casey, tomorrow's the big day, huh?" Ralph questioned.

"Yep," Casey confirmed.

"Well, happy early birthday," Ralph said.

"Thanks, Ralph," Casey said.

"So, what kind of eats are there gonna be?" Ralph questioned expectantly. With a unison-ed groan, Sam and Derek clapped their hands to their heads and shook their heads. "What? What?" Ralph asked in confusion. _Seriously? He expects me to invite him?_ Casey wondered.

"Ralph, buddy, we need to talk," Sam stated and he and Derek took him aside.

"I can't believe him," Kendra said softly.

"Maybe I **should** invite him. I mean, he **is** our friend," Casey commented.

"Well, more Derek and Sam's," Kendra stated.

"And it's **your** birthday, Case. He shouldn't just expect to be invited like it was Sam or Derek's party," Emily pointed out.

"Ralph, dude, seriously?" Derek asked.

"What? It's a party and you guys are gonna be there," Ralph pointed out.

"But that's different, man. It's Casey's party. And you guys get along, but you're not exactly bosom buddies," Sam reminded him.

"So you're not even gonna ask her?" Ralph asked. Casey's eyes clouded at the dejected tone.

"Uh-oh. I know that look," Emily said and she and Kendra shared a sigh. They knew what was coming next. Casey was gonna cave.

"Ralph, would you like to come to my party?" Casey asked. Everyone watched as the boy's eyes lit up.

"Really? Thanks!" he called. Then, he got into his car and drove away.

"Well, that was nice, Case, but you didn't have to do that," Derek stated.

"Oh, come on, how could I hurt him like that? I mean, yeah, he can be annoying, but he **is** our friend," Casey commented. Then, they turned their vehicles, got in, and drove off. When Casey and Derek got home, Casey immediately went down to her room and started perusing the various lists she had made to see if she had forgotten to do anything in preparation for the party the next night. However, it only took her a few seconds to see that she hadn't. _I guess now I just have to wait_, she thought to herself. Then, she made a face. She hated waiting. Especially when she put in a lot of work on something. Then again, it always made it that much sweeter. Meanwhile, the car had gotten closer to its destination.

"Oh, I can't wait to see her! It's been **way** too long!" the youngest of the group said, repeating what she had said earlier.

"Well, can't really argue with that one," the driver agreed. Then, they fell silent again. The driver sped up and the others rolled their eyes and shared grins. They couldn't really blame him. They were excited too. It had been about a year since they had seen Casey. Two hours later, Casey went up the stairs and headed for the kitchen where George and Nora were setting the table, followed by Derek, Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti. They were just about to sit down when Casey became aware of a coming car. Curious, she went out to the living room, where various smells hit her nostrils. With a gasp of excitement, she opened the door and barely kept herself from blurring towards the car that approached, the others at her heels.

"I think she missed us," the driver stated sarcastically. When they got closer to the house, he stopped and parked the car. Then, Casey wrapped him in a hug, knocking him back.

"Stefan! Damon! You guys came!" she exclaimed.

"Of course! We're not going to miss our little sister's birthday," Stefan said.

"Besides, we had to make sure you did **something** fun," Damon teased and Casey slapped him.

"Hey, I want a hug too," the blonde-haired girl said.

"Lexie!" Casey squealed, obliging the girl.

"I think Damon's right. She missed us," Lexie stated. "And we missed you," she added. Then, Casey turned to the oriental-looking vampires. "Pearl, Anna," she said happily.

"Cassandra, it's very nice to see you," Pearl stated as she and Anna hugged their friend. Finally, Casey turned to the last vampire.

"And of course, the sire is last," she commented.

"That just means you're the best, Katerina," Casey told her in Italian.

"Good save," Katherine complimented in the same language.

"Come on. Everybody inside," George said. With that, everyone walked in.

"Did you eat already?" Casey asked.

"Not food, no," Pearl replied.

"Derek-" George began to say.

"I'll go see if I can scrounge up some more chairs," Derek interjected and headed off to do just that. It took him a few trips, but he managed to find enough chairs for everyone.

"Don't worry. We're not big eaters," Anna assured.

"Don't even worry about that. You just eat as much as you want. I had a feeling Stefan and Damon would be heading our way and all the Salvatores know what a voracious eater Damon is," Nora replied.

"Hey!" Damon protested amidst laughter.

"She's got you there, brother," Stefan chuckled.

"So little sister, what's on the agenda for tomorrow?" Damon asked, as they all sat down.

"Well, I've been preparing a somewhat lavish party," Casey answered. Stefan started to say something. "Relax, Stefan. It's nothing like the one I had in 1895," she told him before he could get a word in. "However, we did rent a hall and the decorations are going up tomorrow. Rose is going to find some nice instrumental music and I'll teach some old fashioned dances," she continued.

"Oh, that reminds me. I saw a list of the dances a few days ago, and the one where it looks like you're touching but you're not, does that have a name?" Lizzie questioned. The vampires looked at each other.

"Not to my knowledge," Stefan answered.

"We always just called it the 'No Touch Dance'," Pearl added.

"Among other things," Katherine chimed in and Anna bit back a chuckle.

"Katerina, little ears," Pearl warned, gesturing towards the MacDonalds and Venturis.

"Oh, you're no fun," Katherine mock-pouted and everyone laughed. When dinner was finally over, the vampires headed out.

"Where are you guys staying?" Casey wondered.

"We made reservations for the Canadian Crest Hotel a few towns over," Anna replied, barely holding back a grin as the two got into the car. It was good to see Casey again. She had missed being around someone that looked like her age.

"Ah, I've heard of the place. It's supposed to pretty good," Casey said, buckling herself in as the others also got in. Damon started the engine and then took off. When they finally got to the hotel, they went in, checked in, and then went to their rooms. Once inside, Damon went to the radio and started looking for a station.

"Make it something we can all understand, Damon. Not just screaming," Pearl told him.

"And without words. I'd like to practice the No Touch Dance before tomorrow. I mean, Nora's great, but she doesn't exactly have my memories," Casey added. Damon gave an almost imperceptible nod and continued searching. A few moments later, he stopped on a classical station.

"All right. Stefan, you and Casey get in position, while I'll dance with Katherine, and then after a while, we can switch with Lexie, Pearl and Anna," Damon stated.

"You remembered us all. Very good," Pearl approved.

"That's what Katherine says," Damon leered and everyone groaned.

"Really?" Stefan asked.

"I think I'll just watch you guys," Anna told them and Pearl let out a silent sigh as the younger vampire sat on the bed. She never **could** get her daughter interested in this type of dance. Then, Stefan bowed as Casey curtsied and Damon and Katherine did likewise. Then, they circled each other, the boys holding up their left hands as the girls held up their right hands so that they were barely touching. After a few circles, they switched hands and repeated the moves. Then, they put both hands up so that they were almost touching and once more circled each other. To complete the dance, they each put a hand on each others shoulders and held the other hand and moved in time to the music. As the music faded, they returned to their start positions. Another song started, which thankfully was the same beat as the last, and Stefan moved aside so that he was dancing with Lexie while Damon chose to dance with Pearl. Casey sat down next to Anna and they watched as her brothers danced. As she watched them dancing, a smile graced her lips. She had forgotten how much she liked to watch her older brothers dance. They were always so graceful and handsome. _Ten-year old Cassandra watched silently as eighteen-year old Damon danced with an auburn-haired girl. She wished she was old enough to attend this function. It looked like such fun._

"_Yuh should be in bed, Missus," a voice stated, startling her. She turned to see one of her father's Negro servants. _

"_But Damon's dancing," she said._

"_Ah'm sure he'll be tellin' yuh all about the dancin' in the mahning," the woman said and led the girl to her room. _A burst of laughter brought Casey back to the present. Apparently, a more upbeat song had started and Damon was doing some crazy dance he had picked up years ago.

"Come on, Case! Dance with me!" Damon invited.

"No! You're a crazy man!" Casey shouted. For an answer, Damon spun around, lifted her up in the air and twirled her around. Casey laughed and then yanked out of his grasp. In the blink of an eye, she was across the room and doing her own dance. Katherine went to the radio and switched channels until she found a rock station and started dancing with Casey and Damon. With wild whoops, Stefan, Lexie, Pearl, and Anna joined them. Soon, the room was filled with wild laughter and dancing.


	33. 142 Candles Part 2

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thanks, for the catch. That was fixed. True, but I have a plan. You'll just have to read to find out what it is. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the C.W. I only own the plot. Though I'm only mentioning core characters, Casey's party is large and lavish. And I realized I forgot Rose in the last chap. Sorry.

A couple of hours later, they all stopped their antics.

"Well Cassandra, I hate to say it, but you should be getting back," Pearl commented and the girl made a face.

"Can't she stay? Please?" Anna begged.

"You'll see her tomorrow, Anna," Pearl reminded.

"Come on, I'll drive you," Lexie said. Casey followed Lexie to the car and got in. The older vampire started the engine and drove off. When they finally got to her house, she went inside and down to her bedroom, where she rechecked her homework and tried to make herself busy until it was a reasonable time to sleep. Then, she changed into a pair of pajamas, got into the bed, and closed her eyes. The next morning, she got dressed, got herself some sustenance, and then went upstairs to the kitchen where she got out a bowl and a box of cereal and poured herself some breakfast. As she ate, a smile graced her lips. It was great to have her family and friends back, even if it was just for one night. It'd **definitely** make her birthday that much more fun. One-by-one, George, Nora, Derek, Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti came into the kitchen and got their own breakfast.

"So, is everything ready for tonight?" Lizzie asked in between bites.

"As far as I know, yes. I mean, all I really have to do now is decorate the hall and then hope everything goes off without a hitch," Casey responded, her eyes clouding. _Oh, I want this night to go right. It's been a long time since I've had a proper party_, she thought to herself.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Nora assured. When they were all finally done with their breakfasts, they all went their separate ways. Minutes later, Casey and Derek were at school where they ran into their friends.

"So here's the birthday girl," Emily greeted when she saw her friend.

"You excited?" Sam asked, giving her a hug.

"More like nervous," Casey replied.

"What? Why?" Sam wondered.

"Yeah, I mean you've spent weeks on this party. What's there to be nervous about?" Derek added.

"A lot considering that the last party I threw didn't end well for my guests," Casey replied.

"What do you mean?" Emily questioned.

"Elijah and I drained and killed them all," Casey told her.

"Oh," Emily said, blinking. She hadn't been expecting **that** answer. Looking at Sam and Derek, she saw that they were just as surprised as she was. However, they all kept their mouths shut as they headed for their homeroom. Once they sat down, Casey opened up a notebook and began doodling and before she knew it, it was time for the next class. She gathered up her things, walked into the class, and started taking notes, even though her mind was only half on the lesson. Her preoccupation lasted the whole day, though she did her best to act normally. When school was finally let out, she headed for the car where Derek was waiting. Then, she got in and he drove off.

"So you seemed preoccupied today, is everything all right?" he asked.

"Yes, everything's fine, Derek," she assured.

"You sure?"

"Yes." He nodded. A few minutes later, they arrived at home and then walked into the house and each went to their rooms. Casey immediately sat down and started on her homework. She was halfway done when a memory hit. _Cassandra and Elijah mingled with the guests, making small talk. Cassandra let a small smirk grace her lips. None of them knew that all of the doors except for the entrance were locked. Elijah pulled her close._

"_You ready, Love?" he asked in a tone only she could hear._

"_Always, Dear," she replied in the same tone. Elijah grinned and then blurred to the door and quickly locked it._

"_What's going on?" a man asked a bit angrily._

"_Ladies and gentlemen, don't be alarmed-" Elijah began._

"_It won't do you a bit of good," Cassandra finished, and they both let their true features show. Everyone screamed and ran for the exits. _

"_Break it down!" a girl screamed at her date. However, before he could even attempt it,_ _Cassandra had grabbed him and bit into him, quickly draining him while Elijah did the same to his date. Eyes flashing, Cassandra blurred to the other side of the room, ending up in front of a distinguished looking guest trying one of the back doors._

"_Why Worthington, trying to leave so soon?" she mocked, flashing her fangs at_ _him._

"_Get away, unholy beast!" he snapped, rearing his arm back to strike her. Cassandra tsk-ed and grabbed his arm, forcing it behind his back. He screamed as a bone snapped._

"_Oh, I'm sorry. Was that your arm I just broke?" she mocked_ again. _"It's okay. The pain won't last long," she assured, placing a well-manicured hand on his chest and caressing it. Then, with a terrible smile, she ran her fingers down his chest, letting her nails tear at his flash. Worthington began to scream but she quickly put a hand over his mouth._

"_Be silent. No matter what I do, don't make a sound," she told him, allowing her pupils to dilate. In a daze, the man nodded his compliance and she continued her actions. Then, she tore into his throat with her fangs. When she was done, she unceremoniously dropped the body on the floor. Then she proceeded to do the same with the rest of the males. When she and Elijah were finally done, he pushed her against the wall._

"_Beautifully and masterfully executed, Darling," he complimented. Casey grinned, her fangs dripping with blood._

"_They were such bores anyway. We were did the world a service by killing them," she stated._

"_My Ripper," he fondly said with a grin. Then, they kissed passionately._

"Casey?" Lizzie's voice broke through Casey's reverie.

"Lizzie, have you been in here long?" Casey asked.

"Couple of minutes," Lizzie answered. "Where did you go?" she asked.

"Trust me, it's better that you don't know," the older girl replied.

"Um, okay," Lizzie said. Then, "Mom said she had a question for you."

"I'll be right there." She closed her book and then went upstairs where Nora was sitting in the living room, a sheet of paper in her hand.

"What do you need?" Casey asked.

"I forget, did you say you wanted Chocolate Fudge or German Chocolate Cake?" Nora asked.

"Chocolate Fudge. It's Damon who likes German Chocolate," Casey answered.

"Right," Nora said. "That's all. Thanks," she said.

"No problem," Casey answered and then went back downstairs to finish her homework, where after a while, she became aware of cake ingredients and smiled. _It's gonna be good_, she thought to herself. Two hours later, she was finally done. She went upstairs and headed for the kitchen.

"Hey, Nora. Need any help?" she offered.

"Nope. I've got it all under control," the woman assured. "You just go get ready."

"Are you sure?" Nora nodded and Casey went back downstairs and put on an elegant-looking black dress. Then, she walked back upstairs. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang and Casey opened it to reveal Sam, Emily, and Ralph.

"Hey, guys. Come on in," Casey said and they did so. Then, the door opened and Stefan, Damon, Rose, Lexie, Anna, and Pearl walked.

"Rose. We missed you last night," Casey said.

"Yes, I know, but I had to make a supply run and it took longer than I anticipated," Rose answered in a voice that only the other vampires could hear. For the next several minutes, she greeted the classmates who came. When everyone had finally arrived, Nora and George came out into the living room. After a few minutes of mingling, Nora came to stand in front of everyone. Instantly, the kids became quiet.

"Thank you all for coming. We have a few old-fashioned dances that we'll be doing and Casey and Stefan will demonstrate them for you," Nora stated.

"This first dance is one that Damon and I were taught when we were little. If it has a name, I don't know it," Stefan stated. "Nora, music please," he requested. The woman put in a c.d. and classical music started. Stefan bowed as Casey curtsied. Then, they circled each other, Stefan holding up his left hand as Casey held up her right hand so that they were barely touching. After a few circles, they switched hands and repeated the moves. Then, they put both hands up so that they were almost touching and once more circled each other. Nora smiled as she watched them. _They look beautiful together. I wonder what this dance looked like back then_, she thought to herself. To complete the dance, they each put a hand on each others shoulders and held the other hand and moved in time to the music. As the music faded, they returned to their start positions.

"And that's basically it," Stefan told them.

"Now, when you're doing this with a significant other, the dance is quite passionate," Casey added. "Of course, Stefan and I are more like siblings," she continued, causing Damon, Katherine, Anna, Pearl, and Lexie to stifle laughs.

"Now, who thinks they can do it?" Stefan asked.

"Me!" Ralph cried.

"I think we can do it," Kendra stated, pointing to herself and Derek.

"Yeah, I'm willing to give it a shot," Derek agreed. Casey and Stefan ushered the boys and girls to different sides as Nora started up the music again. As the song began, the kids copied the movements that they had seen. To their surprise, they all caught on fast. Casey smiled at Sam. _Wow. If I close my eyes, I can make believe I'm back in 1864_, she thought to herself.

"So, did you have dances like this often in your day?" Sam asked softly.

"Often enough," Casey replied as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I bet you looked beautiful," Sam commented.

"Flatterer," Casey accused good-naturedly.

"I'm serious. You were probably the belle of the ball," Sam insisted. Hearing the comment, Damon and Stefan smirked at each other.

"She's definitely got a good one," Stefan approved and Damon nodded. The music changed and they started another dance. It took some of the other guests a few minutes to catch on to the new moves, but once they did, it became obvious that they were all having a good time. A few dances went by and then Nora brought out the cake. After the customary birthday song, Casey blew out the candles. Then, Casey opened her presents, which consisted of books and music that she liked. A couple of hours later, the party ended and Casey's classmates left the house.

"So, Casey, since the party's over, what are you going to do now?" George asked.

"Well, the party's not quite over for Casey," Damon corrected him.

"What are you talking about?" George wondered.

"We've planned a party of our own for Casey. Kind of a vampire thing," Katherine answered. Casey looked at them eagerly before giving Nora a questioning look.

"Go ahead and have fun," the woman said. With that, Casey joined Stefan, Damon, Katherine, Lexie, Anna, and Pearl as they went inside and got into the van. Then, Damon drove off. A few minutes later, he reached their destination: an ice-skating rink. They all went in.

"What's going on?" Casey asked as Damon paid the owner.

"We set this up a couple of months ago. We have the place all to ourselves," Lexie answered. As soon as he was paid, the owner left. After putting on some skates, Damon blurred up to where the music was, put in a c.d., and then blurred back down. Then, the small group went out to the rink and skated furiously to the hard rock, going so fast the human eye wouldn't be able to see them. Casey laughed. This was totally freeing. There was no need to act like a typical human and she could be with her brothers. A slow song started and Damon bowed as Casey curtsied and they danced with one another as Stefan and Lexie paired up. Katherine smiled softly as she watched them. _I forgot how much I liked watching those two dance together_, she thought. Though she kept up a good front in front of the others, she had missed the girl as well. Another slow song came on and Casey skated over to Stefan and danced with him as Damon and Katherine danced with one another. Presently, Damon left the skating rink, went to the concession stand, pulled out several bottles of liquor, and then came back to them.

"Of course," Rose said with a roll of her eyes. "You know, one could argue that you're an alcoholic," she continued.

"Who cares? I'm a vampire. It won't kill me," Damon reminded with another shrug.

"How did you get those in here?" Casey demanded.

"Snuck 'em in," Damon replied with a casual shrug as he passed the bottles around.

"My bad boy," Katherine teased with a grin. Damon passed the bottles around and the vampires opened them and resumed skating as another hard rock song started. They danced to the beat, periodically drinking the alcohol. Casey whooped and zoomed past the others, bobbing her head in time with the music. They laughed. Several hours later, they finally stopped.

"I could go all night," Casey admitted.

"As could we, but I think George and Nora would appreciate you being home at a semi-decent hour," Lexie commented.

"Killjoy," Casey mock-moped and the older girl laughed. Nevertheless, they all went took a seat and took off their skates.

"Don't worry. We'll be back for your graduation," Lexie stated.

"Yeah, and then we all leave for good," Damon told her. Casey grinned.

"I can't wait," she admitted. She was getting kind of tired of playing human. She missed being able to cut loose like this. Nora and her family were great, but they were human and couldn't possibly relate to her. As if sensing her mood, Rose walked up to her.

"Cassandra, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," Casey answered as she put her regular shoes on.

"Cassandra," Rose stated. Casey let out a nonexistent breath.

"I'm just getting tired of playing human. I can't wait until I can leave," she admitted.

"I know it's hard. But Katerina stated that she only has to take care of one more thing and the hunters that came after us and their friends won't try it again," Rose said. "Besides, look at it this way, you'll have another cap and gown to add to the collection," she joked and Casey laughed. They got into the van and Damon drove Casey home. Once inside, she sat at the window and waved until the van was out of sight and hearing distance.

"Did you have a good time?" Nora questioned. Casey nodded as she turned around.

"It was good to cut loose. I felt normal again," she admitted.

"I can't even imagine," the woman confessed. Then, "Honey, I know it's hard. But it's only for a few more months."

"I know." Nora smoothed back Casey's hair and then went to her room. Casey, however, just settled down on the couch and stared at the window, wishing that she could once again be with her true family.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I don't condone underage drinking but I figured since Casey's 142 years old and Anna's older than that, they aren't technically underage. And the cap and gown remark was a reference to the Twilight movie where Bella noticed all the caps and gowns that the Cullens had collected over the centuries because they continually graduated. What can I say? I'm a casual fan of the series.


	34. Derek's School Of Dating Part 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Yes, she does. Yep. Thank. Oh, yeah, I wasn't gonna forget **that**. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks. Yeah, I know what you mean and I'm the one who wrote it, lol. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

HOALemonadeMouthLuvv165: Here's more. Cool.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot and characters you don't recognize. This takes place a little after "142 Candles". This is shorter than normal, but it worked for the episode.

Derek closed his locker and let out a deep sigh.

"What's wrong, man?" Sam asked.

"Kendra and I have been dating for a few months now, and I wanna do somethin' special for her-kinda like an anniversary thing-but I don't know what to do," Derek answered. Sam let out a small laugh.

"Wow. You're growin' up, man," he commented.

"Ssshhh! Don't tell anybody," the first boy shot back teasingly and they laughed. "But seriously man, what should I do?" he wondered.

"I don't know. But I'm sure you'll think of something," his friend answered. Derek nodded and the two went to homeroom. Derek sat at his desk and pretended to rummage around in his backpack as his mind raced. What could he do for Kendra to show her how important she was to him? Unable to come up with anything, the boy sighed and checked his homework. _Good. everything's here and correct_, he thought after a while. His pensive attitude lasted the entire day. Finally, at lunch, he approached Casey before she could enter the cafeteria.

"What's up, Derek?" Casey wondered.

"I need your help," he admitted.

"With what?" she asked.

"Kendra and I have been dating a few months now and I'd like to do something special for her, but I have no idea what," he told her. She grinned briefly. _Oh, he's got it bad_, she thought to herself.

"And you were hoping I could give you a few pointers?" she queried.

"Yeah."

"Sure. I'll give you a hand. We can talk after school." They walked into the cafeteria and joined their friends.

"Hey, Derek," Kendra greeted as they sat down.

"Hey, Babe," Derek responded. She gave him a semi-reproachful nudge and then rolled her eyes. _Crazy boy_, she thought. But that was why she loved him. Casey watched them and then smiled as Sam put an arm around her. She leaned into him. For the others they day went by fast, but for Derek, the day dragged on. He **needed** to talk to Casey! Finally, the day was done and while their friends went to their vehicles, Casey and Derek met up.

"So, you're not sure what to do for Kendra?" Casey asked.

"Yeah, I mean-we've been dating for a few months now and I don't know about her, but-for me, this is big! I can't just get her a thing of flowers! I need to do something spectacular, you know?" Derek responded.

"You know, in all my 142 years, it still amazes me how nervous a guy can get when he's really in love and doesn't want to screw things up," Casey said with a shake of her head.

"Great, I ask you for help and you're making fun of me," Derek grumbled.

"I'm not making fun of you, I promise," Casey assured. "It's just I never thought I'd smell true love on you," she continued.

"What are you talking about?" Derek asked in confusion. _True love? Yeah, I love Kendra, but how would it smell different?_ he wondered.

"Most people don't know it, but true love has a different set of pheromones than attraction or lust. You and Kendra have the same smell. I smell it on Sam too," Casey explained.

"Is that just a human thing or do vampires get it too?" Derek wondered.

"We can get it too," Casey replied. "We can't smell it on ourselves, but we can smell it on each other," she continued.

"Huh," Derek mused. _That's kinda interesting_, he thought to himself. Then they headed for their car, got in, and drove off. When they got home, Derek headed for the kitchen as Casey went to her bedroom and immediately started her homework. She had barely gotten started when Derek walked in. She didn't say anything but simply raised an eyebrow.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he quickly stated. "But seriously, what do I do for Kendra? I wanna show her that I'm serious about her," he said.

"Do something from the heart. Think about what she likes and go from there," she advised.

"I don't know," Derek sighed. It all sounded so simple, but…he didn't usually **do** emotions.

"Derek, please. You have nothing to be nervous about. I mean, everyone knows you're nuts about her," Casey reminded.

"I'm also a high school student with a budget," he pointed out.

"It doesn't have to be fancy. Just from the heart," she told him.

"I know. I know," he sighed. "Thanks." Then, he walked back to his room, leaving the vampire to continue her homework. Meanwhile, Rose was helping Kendra with a spell.

"Stop, stop, stop," Rose said suddenly. Kendra did as she was told and stared at the vampire in confusion. "Your concentration's all wonky. What's going on?" the woman asked.

"It's nothing. I'll do better," Kendra promised.

"Kendra, it can be dodgy at best and bring death at worst for a witch or warlock to do magic with their heads all amuck," Rose told her. "Now what's going on?" she asked. Kendra sighed.

"Derek and I have for a few months now and I think that's pretty special. I mean, before Derek, I only dated guys for like, a week at a time before dumping them. But Derek-" Kendra began to say.

"Doesn't feel the same way?" Rose surmised.

"I don't know!" Kendra responded. "He hasn't said anything! He obviously doesn't get it or he doesn't care," she continued with a sigh.

"Do you really believe that he doesn't care?" Kendra shook her head. "It could be that he doesn't get it. After all, boys and men-no matter what century they're from-can be a rather clueless lot." Back at the MacDonald/Venturi residence, Edwin went up the stairs and headed for his brother's room. Seeing the door closed, he knocked.

"Come in!" The boy opened the door and stood at the door. "What can I do for you Ed?"

"How do you know you like Kendra?" Derek looked up.

"It's just a feeling I've got."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just-everything's better when I'm with her: food tastes better, my favorite comedies are funnier-she just makes everything better."

"So you know you love her because everything's amplified?"

"Exactly!" Then, Derek's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Why was Edwin asking him these questions? "Ed, do-do you like someone?"

"No! I-I mean, there's-there's this girl at school who I think is pretty cute, but…" Derek shook his head in silent laughter.

"You've got a crush," he commented.

"And you're laughing at me," the younger boy pouted. He turned to go, but his brother gently grabbed his arm.

"Hey, wait. I'm sorry," he apologized. "Tell me about her. What's her name?"

"Michelle. She's really pretty! And she's funny! And she can sing and…" Derek bit back a laugh at Edwin's eager praise. He had it bad all right. It sounded almost as bad as he had it for Kendra. Then again, Edwin was only twelve.

"Well, have you told her how you feel?"

"How can I? I can barely even speak when I'm around her!" _Ohhhh…it's hard at that age_, Derek thought. Heck, it was hard at **any** age.

"Look, everyone gets nervous around someone they like-even I did-sometimes the best thing to do is to just go for it."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks." Edwin walked out of the room. _That's taken care of. Now if I could just figure out __**my**__ problem_, Derek thought. What had Casey said? Do something from the heart? _From the heart_, Derek mused. Something from the heart…something that explained to Kendra how he felt about her. Then, his eyes widened.

"That's it!" he exclaimed. He knew what to do! Frantically, he grabbed his guitar, a notebook, and a pencil. Then, he started playing music, periodically stopping to write something down. In her room, Casey smiled when she heard the boy's actions. He was on to something, and from the sound of it, Kendra was going to love it. Casey grinned and then concentrated on her work, letting the other sounds fade out.


	35. Derek's School Of Dating Part 2

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. Oh, yeah. Yeah, pretty much. Thanks. Sorry this wasn't soon enough. Happy New Year about a month late.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Seddielover1311: Thank you. Lol, I've had that happen before myself. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot. Yes, Battle Of The Bands happened, it just wasn't shown. The lyrics are mine, but they were inspired by the song that Derek wrote for Sally in the actual show.

The next day at school, Derek arrived looking extremely pleased with himself.

"Well, don't you look like a cat who's swallowed the canary?" Sam asked.

"Dude, I've got it all figured out. Now I just hope I can keep Kendra from finding out before she's supposed to," Derek responded.

"So you're going to surprise with something?"

"Yep."

"You gonna tell me?"

"Nope." Sam shook his head. His friend was nuts. "Oh, you'll never guess who has his first crush?"

"No way…Edwin?"

"Yeah. It's actually kind of cute." As they walked to homeroom, Derek told Sam what Edwin had told him.

"You're right, dude. That **is** cute," Sam agreed. _Wow. Little Edwin with a crush_, he thought, shaking his head. That was a weird thought. But then again, he **was** getting to be that age. Then, they went to their homeroom where they continued to talk until the next class. Then, they were all extremely busy until lunch. As she got her lunch, Kendra sighed to herself. She hadn't gotten a chance to talk Derek all morning. _How can I make sure I didn't scare him off if he won't even talk to me?_ she wondered. Derek was the first real relationship she had ever had and she didn't want to screw it up. But she also didn't want to be strung along either. _What do I do?_ she wondered with a deep sigh. Then, she sat down and absentmindedly picked at her food.

"Hey. You okay?" she suddenly heard a voice ask. She jumped slightly and then turned in seat to see Casey.

"Yeah, I'm okay. It's just-Derek," she sighed.

"What about him?" the other girl wondered.

"He's just acting so weird," she stated. "I mean, he's been drawing away from me like he's tired of me and-" she continued.

"Whoa, hold on. Trust me, he is **not** tired of you," Casey interrupted.

"Do you know something?" Kendra asked.

"Maybe, maybe not. Just have faith in him," Casey responded. Kendra sighed. Then, she looked at her friend.

"Should a vampire be talking about faith?" she asked in confusion.

"Probably not, but my brothers and I have never been conventional," came the response. Kendra laughed. Then, she bit her lip and her eyes clouded. What was she going to do? After lunch, they went to their classes. For Kendra and Derek, the rest of the afternoon went by slowly, but for different reasons. When the day was finally over, the kids went to their lockers and put their books in their backpacks. Then, they headed for the parking lot.

"Hey, Kendra, wanna go to Smelly Nelly's tonight?" Derek asked

"Yeah," Kendra replied. _Yes! He's still interested in me!_ she thought.

"Is five okay?"

"Yeah." Then, he joined Casey at the car. Once Casey and Derek got to their home, Casey went to her room and began her homework. Thanks to her vampiric speed, she finished it in record time. Then, she walked up to her stereo and put a c.d. in. Then, she started dancing around to the music. Meanwhile, Derek was making sure he was ready for that night.

"Okay, I got the guitar, I know the words, I got the date…" Derek's voice trailed off as he ran down his list. He looked down at his outfit. _I can't wear this! I wanna look good for her!_ he thought to himself. Then, he went to his closet and started searching for something to wear. Meanwhile, at Rose's house, Kendra was also looking for something to wear.

"Rose, what am I going to do? I mean, I know it's just Smelly Nelly's and he probably doesn't have anything planned, but-Rose-I'm a nervous wreck!"

"Well, calm down first of all." The older woman led her friend to her closet and then started mixing and matching an outfit. When Kendra was finally satisfied, Rose smiled in delight.

"He won't know what hit him," she declared and Kendra grinned widely. Back at the MacDonald/Venturi residence, Edwin was sitting and moping on the couch. Presently, Lizzie came in.

"Hey, how you holding up?" she asked, sitting next to him. He shrugged. "Hey, so she didn't feel the same you did. At least she was nice about it," she continued.

"Yeah, I know," he said.

"Come on. I'll scoop you up some ice cream," the girl said and dragged him off of the couch and towards the kitchen. Edwin shook his head. How could he ever fight his stepsister? He watched as the girl took out two bowls and got them both some ice cream. When she was done, she put the ice cream back in the freezer and sat down at the table with him and they began to eat the dessert.

"Thanks."

"Any time." Then, they continued to eating. When five o'clock finally rolled around, Kendra went to Smelly Nelly's. She blew out a nervous breath and entered the establishment to find Derek already waiting.

"Wow. You beat me," she said, looking at his green polo shirt and white slacks. His hair had been combed back and slightly slicked.

"I didn't want to keep you waiting," he told her. "You looking really good," he told her, staring at her pale blue dress.

"Thank you," Kendra said, tucking a lock of hair behind an ear. Her hair had been curled and poofed up. They walked to a table and sat down. They had only been sitting for a few minutes, when a waitress came up.

"Hey, Sally," Derek and Kendra chorused.

"Hey, guys. Need some menus?" Sally Fairbanks asked. She was an older girl with blonde hair wearing blue jeans and a white shirt.

"Yes, please," Derek and Kendra answered together. The girl handed them the requested items.

"Can I start you guys off with anything to drink?" Sally queried.

"Water for me," Kendra responded.

"Regular Coke," Derek added.

"Coming right up," Sally promised and then walked off to get the drinks. Kendra grinned. They were off to a good start. The two looked at the menus.

"The cheeseburger looks good," Kendra commented after a few minutes.

"Yeah, it does," Derek agreed. Then, Sally came out with the drinks.

"Thank you."

"No problem. Do you guys still need a few minutes?" Derek and Kendra looked at each other.

"No, I think we're ready," Kendra responded.

"Would you like me to go first, or do you want me to order for both of us, or…?" Derek's question trailed off.

"If you don't mind, I'd prefer to order for myself," Kendra answered.

"Then ladies first," Derek told her.

"I'll have a cheeseburger with a side of fries please," Kendra said and Sally wrote the order down.

"I'll have the double cheeseburger with a side of fries, and could you get us a strawberry milkshake…two straws?" Derek requested. Kendra's eyes lit up at the mention of her favorite dessert.

"Coming right up," Sally answered, writing down the request. Then, she walked off towards the kitchen.

"Derek, I still can't believe you know my favorite dessert. I mean, I don't order it that often," Kendra said.

"Of course I know your favorite dessert. You're my girlfriend," Derek stated. Kendra giggled. _Wow. This is so cool_, she thought. She had never had a boy be this attentive before. It felt kind of nice, though she hoped that this wasn't the extent of what Derek had planned. They had been going out for a while now and she didn't want this particular date to be just like any other. Presently, Sally came out with their dinners and the two began eating. Several minutes later, Derek pushed his plate away and then walked up to the stage area.

"Derek, what are you doing?" Kendra questioned, finally noticing that the boy's guitar was on the stage.

"Okay, you of all people know that my voice isn't the best, so please, please bear with me?" Derek begged as he picked up his guitar.

"Okay," Kendra agreed, sounding confused. Derek began a rock riff.

_Yeah, I thought I was a big shot,_

_Thought I was so hot_

_Then you came along _

_And brought me down to Earth_

_Yeah, you showed me what I _

_Was really worth._

_Thought I had to be bad_

_Thought I had to be a cad_

_Then you come along like you're _

_From above and show me_

_Some real love_

_You're making me better_

_Through sun and stormy weather_

_You're making me better_

_You're making me better_

_Like birds of a feather_

_We stick together and_

_You're making me better_

_Went around, paintin' the town_

_And now you got me settlin' down_

_Went from girl to girl, set their hearts_

_All a whirl _

_Stayed out late or dumped a date_

_I didn't really care at all_

_ Then you showed up and felt myself_

_ Starting to fall_

_You're making me better_

_Through sun and stormy weather_

_You're making me better_

_You're making me better_

_Like birds of a feather_

_We stick together and_

_You're making me better_

_You're making me better_

_Through sun and stormy weather_

_You're making me better_

_You're making me better_

_Like birds of a feather_

_We stick together and_

_You're making me better_

_You're making me better_

_Through sun and stormy weather_

_You're making me better_

_You're making me better_

_Like birds of a feather_

_We stick together and_

_You're making me better_

_You're making me better_

_Through sun and stormy weather_

_You're making me better_

_You're making me better_

_Like birds of a feather_

_We stick together and_

_You're making me better_

_You're making me better_

_You're making me better_

_You're making me better_

_You're making me better_

When Derek finished the song, he grabbed his guitar and went back to the table. Kendra threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"That was the sweetest and most romantic thing anyone's ever done for me," she told him. Then, she leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Derek moaned and returned the kiss, and as the kiss intensified, the teens weren't aware of anything but each other.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

This is the end of Season 3. This was shorter than even **I** expected, lol.


	36. Interlude 4

SHOUT OUT/ANSWERS

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thanks. Yeah, I wanted a sweet moment between those two and to also show that feelings aren't always reciprocated. No ep yet, sorry. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Seddielover1311: Thanks. Awww, I'm sorry. At least we're in the same boat, lol. Thanks. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Hey, look! We're finally in Season 4! Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW.

Derek and Casey were both in their rooms, getting ready for a big party. From her room, Casey could hear everything that was going on in Derek's room. She smiled to herself when she heard him singing. Granted, he wasn't the best singer in the world, but he certainly wasn't the worst either. Things were going pretty well and they were quiet, which is what she liked. With a happy sigh, she continued to get ready. When she was finally done, she went downstairs to wait for Derek. When the boy finally came down, Casey could see that he was wearing a green shirt with black jeans and had slicked his hair back. She made a slight face.

"Went a little overboard on the cologne, Bro," she told him.

"Sorry, Sis," he responded.

"Ah, don't worry about it. It's fine," she replied. Then, they went to the car; Derek got in the driver's seat, started the car, and drove off. Within minutes, they were at the house of one of Sam's hockey buddies. When they walked through the door, they could see that the party was in full swing.

"Wow. This is some party," Casey commented.

"You haven't seen nothing yet," Derek told her and Casey laughed as they joined their friends.

"Hey guys," Derek greeted.

"Hey!" the group exclaimed and Sam hugged Casey as Kendra hugged Derek. Emily and Ralph waited and then Emily hugged Derek and Ralph hugged Casey.

"We weren't sure if you were going to make it," Emily confessed.

"And miss a great party? No way," Derek responded. Kendra smiled and shook her head. Typical Derek. The friends continued to talk, laugh, and mingle amongst themselves. Presently, a boy with semi-tan skin walked inside the house and looked at the guests suspiciously. He and his family had tracked one of their prey here. But where were they? Only one way to find out, he determined and went over to the beverages where he discreetly poured a liquid in each container and then shook them. Then, he walked to the middle of the room where the cheerleaders were.

"Hey, Truman! You made it!" Amy cried happily.

"Hey, man, what's up?" Max questioned.

"Not much," Truman French replied. "Tell me this, if this is this a hockey player's party, what's a football player doing here?"

"Hey, a party's a party. And we decided on a truce."

"Oh." Then, Truman turned his attention to the rest of the party-goers. A little while later, Casey, Kendra, Emily, Sam, and Derek went over by the beverages while Ralph was busy talking with some of their other friends. The teens all got a cup and poured themselves a drink of Coca-Cola.

"Bottoms up," they chorused and each took a drink. As soon as the beverage was down her throat, Casey felt a burning sensation in her veins and her cup dropped as she doubled up. Seeing this, Truman excused himself from the girl he was talking to and began to make his way over to them.

"Casey, what's wrong?" Sam asked in concern, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Vervain," she rasped.

"What?" the others gasped.

"I…gotta get out of here," she told them.

"Right. Of course," Derek nodded and they all headed for the door.

"You guys can stay. I'll just go," Casey told them.

"No way. We stick together," Kendra stated and they all nodded. Seeing that his friends were heading for the door, Ralph hurried towards them.

"Hey, why are you guys leaving? We just got here," he pointed out.

"Casey's not feeling well all of a sudden," Kendra answered.

"Right. Of course," Ralph nodded. And of course his friends wouldn't stay if one of their own was ill. He let a small smile grace his lips. Sometimes he couldn't believe that the real Derek-the one who cared about others-had been brought back thanks to Casey. Then, continued towards the door. Truman continued to make his way towards the group, only to be continually stopped by people wanting to talk. When he saw the teens exit the door, he let out a groan of frustration. He had been so close! With a huff, he pushed his way through the party-goers until he was finally at the door. His chagrin mounted when he saw that they were gone. _The vampire must've had an escape plan_, he surmised. Then, he reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a cell phone, and dialed a number. He waited until the ringing had stopped and then spoke quickly and quietly.

"Yeah, it's me. You were right. There's a vampire here. Maybe more than one." He waited a few minutes. "She…got away." He winced as the other person began yelling at him.

"She had some other kids helping her. They were probably compelled." He listened some more. "Don't worry. I'll find her and kill her." He bit his lip. "Yeah, don't worry about a thing. Of course I'll make you proud. Right away…Dad." Then he ended the call and walked out, his eyes clouded with worry.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

This was originally supposed to be a regular episode, but it just worked better as an interlude before the next chap. I don't generally like the character of Truman French, but I felt that he'd make a good antagonist for the fic.


	37. Hunted Part 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Yep. Thanks. Yeah, I like Dasey too, but I'm no good at writing them romantically. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

HOALemonadeMouthLuvv165: Thanks. Here's more.

Seddielover1311: Yep. We'll see. Thank you, I'm glad you liked that part. Thanks, sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot. This chap has switches in POV and Truman won't know anybody, so I'll be using descriptions for the familiar characters when it's his POV, so I apologize if it gets confusing.

Truman French walked through the halls of Sir John Thompson Sparrow High, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He had to find that vampire. But who could he talk to? Part of being a good hunter was getting information without letting people know that you were getting information from them. One of the first things he wanted to do though, was to make sure that those kids the vampire had compelled were all right. They probably didn't even know just how much danger they were actually in…which was why his father had enrolled him into the school. This way, he could pose as a new student and then find the vampire without anyone being none the wiser. Meanwhile, Casey and the others were getting ready for the day.

"Casey, are you sure you're okay? Dad and Nora said you could stay home if you were still feeling shaky," Derek softly asked in concern. The girl had to smile as she recalled the offer. It had been sweet of the adults to give her the option of staying home, but it would've disrupted her cover.

"Don't worry, Derek. I'm fine. The vervain's completely out of my system and I drank some extra blood," Casey assured. "I just wish I knew who the hunter was," she added with a sigh.

"Well, don't worry. We won't let them get anywhere near you," Kendra assured, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Come on. Let's get to homeroom," Casey said and they all headed for the classroom. What they didn't know was that Truman had spotted them and had started following them. _Okay, since they're still hanging around her, she's probably had them compelled since she first came here_, he thought. If that was the case, he'd have to be careful. There was no telling what she had told them to do if she ended up in danger and the last thing he wanted was to kill innocents. Though, he supposed death would most likely be preferable to living with the guilt and shame of having helped an abomination. His eyes narrowed as he followed the group into the homeroom. Feeling someone watching them, Sam looked over his shoulder to see a boy around his height with black hair and hazel eyes staring at them.

"Hey, anyone know who that is?" Sam asked softly. His friends followed his gaze and they all shook their heads.

"He must be new," Emily surmised.

"I don't like the way he's staring at us," Kendra confessed, nervously twirling her hair with a finger.

"Hey, don't worry. I won't let him anywhere near you," Derek assured, putting an arm around her shoulders. She smiled at him and leaned into him. Truman stared at the group through narrowed eyes as he saw them talking in hushed tones. He needed a way to get the others away from the tall brunette so that he could give them vervain and hide them somewhere safe until he knew how many vampires were here. Though, he had to admit he was confused by the lack of attacks the place seemed to have. How was the vampire surviving? Was she feeding on someone but not killing them? It was a possibility. He'd have to check to see who in the town or the surrounding areas were feeling weaker than normal. Then, a teacher walked in, breaking his reverie. As other students took out homework that needed to be completed, Truman took out a notebook and pen flipped the pages of the notebook until he got to a blank page.

_I've arrived at Sir John Sparrow Thompson High. I know who the vampire is, but she's always surrounded by the small group of people she's compelled. I need to save them…preferably without exposing my identity as a hunter. I hope I can do it. It's the first hunting trip I've ever done on my own. _

He looked at the words he had written and then at his classmates. They had no idea just how much danger they were actually in. He had to admit, he was more than a little nervous. The research he and his father had done showed that the vampire here was a little over one hundred years old, which meant that even though she wasn't **incredibly** powerful, she was still pretty strong. He'd have to be careful around her. When homeroom was over, he gathered up his things and headed for his next class. Thanks to his dad's setting things up, he was in every class that the vampire-Cassandra Salvatore, otherwise known as Casey MacDonald-was in. In each of their classes, he stared at her and then jotted something down. In the period before lunch, Truman was watching as Casey jot down notes of the teacher's lecture. Really? Who was this abomination kidding? Anyone with half a brain could tell that she wasn't really a student and that she didn't belong. Truman's eyes narrowed into slits. He couldn't **wait** to kill her. If he could, he'd prefer to do it with no one watching, as it would make destroying the body much easier, but if the kids the vampire had compelled happened to see him kill their captor, they were sure to be grateful. And if they were grateful, he could make them contacts which he, his father, and other hunters could use down the road if need be. He let out a pleased grin. It was a good plan. His father would be proud. Now all he had to do was get the vampire alone so that he could destroy her. Then, he frowned. But how was she even walking around in the daylight? Even with all their research, they couldn't figure out how a small group of vampires managed to stroll around in broad daylight. They could find nothing that made it possible. His father and their friends had checked some of the older journals, but someone had ripped the pages out long ago and Truman got the feeling that the missing pages had the information that they needed. _If that's the case, then somehow, vampires or one of their allies had stolen the journals and destroyed those pages before we get them back_, he thought to himself. Then, the bell rang, jolting him out of his reverie. He gathered up his things, quickly shoving them into his backpack. He couldn't lose her now! Lunch would be the perfect time to take care of her. Once he did that, everything else would be a piece of cake. Everyone would be so grateful to him that no one would mind if he transferred out. They probably wouldn't even notice. He watched as the group grabbed their things and then headed out the door. _No! I can't lose them!_ he thought and he stealthily began following them. Hearing the soft footsteps, Casey focused in on the scent. The boy they had noticed smelled like tree bark and woods. _Such a dull smell_, she thought to herself with a small wrinkle of her nose.

"So, is it just me, or is that new kid really strange?" Ralph queried.

"It's not just you. He **is** strange," Emily stated.

"He was in all of my classes," Casey told them.

"All of them?" Derek repeated.

"**All** of them," Casey confirmed. "I don't know why he's following us, but he's not being very subtle," she continued with a roll of her eyes. _The little boy's gonna get himself hurt if he tries to mess with me_, she thought to herself. They continued until they reached the cafeteria where they each grabbed a tray and then headed for the lunch line. They got their food and then headed for a table. Behind them, Truman frowned. He needed to get information on them. Then, seeing Max and his buddies at a table, he walked up.

"Hey, is it okay if I sit with you guys?"

"Yeah, sure." The teens moved over to give Truman some room.

"So, uh…what can you tell me about her?" Truman asked, gesturing towards Casey.

"Oh, that's Casey MacDonald, Derek's stepsister," Max replied. _Stepsister, huh? She must've planted the family with false memories or something_, he mused. Her compulsion powers must've been pretty powerful if she was able to do that.

"Yeah, and she's really nice to everybody," Amy added. "But a little weird. She mostly just keeps to herself," she continued with a puzzled frown.

"Huh," Truman said. _If she's keeping away from humans, she must be luring them somewhere else_, he figured. So that meant that there was more than one vampire in town. His frown deepened. That meant he had more research to do. But how could he do it? Then, it hit him. He could try to get close to her. The thought of cozying up to a killer turned his stomach, but it was for the greater good. Besides, he had plenty of vervain in his system. There was no way she could compel him. He stood up and headed for the table he had seen her at.

"Hi. Can I join you guys?" he asked when he was close enough. The group stared at each other before nodding in unison.

"Go ahead," they chorused.

"Thanks," the boy said, sitting down. They glanced at each other. What did he want?

"So, who are you?" Sam asked casually, as he put a protective arm around Casey's shoulders. Truman glanced at him suspiciously. _Just how badly has this guy been compelled?_ he wondered. Then, he noticed that the boy was wearing a wrist cuff with a purple lining etched into that. _That's-that's vervain_, he realized in surprise. Why would a vampire give a human vervain? That didn't make sense. He looked to the African-American girl who was wearing a bracelet that had the same purple lining. _This is weird. Why do they have vervain?_ he wondered. It didn't make sense. Then, _Of course. She's trying throw me off. I have to admit, that's pretty clever._ Of course, that wasn't going to work. He was still going to kill her. However, he kept his mouth shut and his face passive. He didn't want to tip her off. He let out a secretive smirk. Casey shared an uneasy look with her friends. She wasn't sure about this guy. Something about him just didn't sit right with her. She picked up a spoonful of her lunch and put it in her mouth, chewing carefully and then swallowing. _This guy doesn't feel right_, the vampire thought to herself. _We need to watch this guy. He's giving me a bad feeling_, Sam mused. Finally, the teens finished lunch and then stood up and took their trays to the trash can. Then, they went to their separate classes. After a few seconds, Truman stood up and also went out of the cafeteria. However, instead of heading for a class, he ducked into the corner of the hallway and quickly dialed a number. He waited for a few minutes until the other line was picked up.

"Report." Truman rolled his eyes at Ronald French's brusque tone.

"No 'Hi son, how you are you'?" he asked.

"Truman," his father growled warningly.

"Sorry," he apologized. "The vampire's posing a student. At least two of the students that she's hanging around have vervain. So I'm not sure what's going on there. I'll find out though," he continued.

"You do that," his father snapped and then hung up. _Love you too, Dad_, Truman thought sarcastically as he hung up his own phone. Then, he went to his next class. After that, he didn't have any other chances to get close to Casey. After school, everyone went to their vehicles, got in them, and then drove off. When Casey and Derek got home, Casey went down to her room, went to her computer, hacked into the school's computer files, and typed in the name of her new classmate. The teachers had introduced him as Truman French. She needed to know just who she was dealing with. She frowned as she perused the records: Truman French, recently moved to Toronto, had enrolled in Sir John Sparrow Thompson High a couple of days ago, moved with his father…it was all pretty basic. _Hmm…his mother's deceased. That's too bad_, she thought to herself. Then, she quickly exited the files. There had been nothing particularly useful for her. Meanwhile, at his own house, Truman had just finished telling his father everything that had happened at the school.

"Well, it's obvious that **someone** in that group is a vampire and that there's another hunter already there. After all, if there wasn't, those two kids wouldn't have had vervain," Ronald stated.

"Yeah, I know," Truman agreed. But who was the hunter in the group? That was the part that was going to be difficult: finding the fellow hunter without exposing their identity to the vampire. Silently, he started polishing an arrow. After a few minutes, he tested the point. Feeling the prick, he smiled in satisfaction. Laced with vervain, the arrow was quite deadly. The vampire-whoever it was-would never see them coming.


	38. Hunted Part 2

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel:

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and CW. I only own the plot. Reference to "Interlude 4". A little bit of language in this chap.

The next morning, Truman was reviewing the notes he had made the previous day, which included his classmates' names. _Okay, seeing that both Sam and Emily both had vervain on, one of them must be a hunter, and my money's on Sam. After all, being a hockey player would keep him in great shape and he'd be able to hold off against a vampire for a little while_, he thought to himself, as he dismissed his previous thought that Emily could be a hunter. But then, why hadn't Sam given the others anything with vervain on it? Maybe he hadn't had the chance? If that's the case, he'd probably welcome some help. Hearing a door open, he looked over his shoulder to see the homeroom teaching walking in. Then, he went back to his notes. While he was reviewing everything he had written down, Casey had walked in with her friends. As she sat down, her mind wandered. Who was the hunter? It had to be a kid if they had gotten into a high school party long enough to slip vervain in her drink without anyone noticing. She frowned. Maybe she could call in the others. _No! That may be what this hunter wants-to get as many of us that they can in one place to dispose of us_, she thought. And she would **never** endanger her family like that. She let out a non-existent sigh. What was she going to do? Would she have to leave again? She didn't want to, but she'd do it to keep the others safe. Before she knew it, homeroom was over and it was time for their next class. She gathered up her belongings and headed out the door. For her, the rest of the morning dragged on. When lunch finally rolled around, she grabbed a tray, got some food, and sat down at a table. She was soon joined by Derek, Kendra, Sam, and Emily.

"Where's Ralph?" Casey wondered.

"Sick. He called me up asking if I'd bring him notes and assignments," Sam replied.

"How sick?" Emily asked.

"It sounded like a cold," Sam responded.

"Bad one?" Kendra queried.

"Not too bad," Sam answered.

"That's good," Emily said.

"Yeah, being sick's no fun," Derek agreed and the others nodded.

"What are you nodding for? You probably haven't been sick since you were turned," Sam said quietly.

"Well, that's true," Casey admitted and they laughed. "But I can still remember how it felt," she continued. What they didn't know was that Truman was watching them from a couple of tables away. He frowned as the group talked. He **had** to know what was going on! Being as quiet as possible, he picked up his tray and moved to a table that was closer to the group.

"So, what do you think of the history assignment?" he heard Casey ask.

"A little tough, but I like the challenge," Kendra replied and Emily and Sam nodded in agreement while Derek just made a face.

"Relax, Derek, I can give you a hand," Casey assured.

"Thanks," Derek replied.

"No problem," Casey told him. Truman's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. From the sounds of it, she was playing the role of a high school student. T_hat would make sense seeing as how she's compelled these kids and probably Derek's whole family_, Truman mused to himself. Just then, his phone let out his text alert. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and then rolled his eyes when he saw the message from his father. _Nice to see you trust me, Dad_, he thought to himself as he responded. Then he closed his phone. When lunch was finally over, he gathered his tray and threw away his trash and went off to his next class, where he continued to take notes on Casey. When he got another break in between classes, he walked up to Casey's locker.

"You're Casey MacDonald, right?" he asked, leaning against her locker.

"And who wants to know?" she asked, barely glancing at the boy. _I don't need this boy hanging around me. I have a hunter to worry about_, she thought to herself.

"I'm Truman French," he introduced himself. "So I noticed that you're a really good student, and though my grades were great at my old school, I'm feeling a little lost here, and was wondering if you wouldn't mind giving me a bit of tutoring?" he questioned. Casey turned to look at him. _Why is he so interested in me?_ she wondered. She had noticed him watching her ever since he had gotten here. Could **he** be the hunter? It certainly bore some investigating.

"Yeah, sure. I can help you catch up," Casey answered.

"Great! Thanks!" Truman grinned. _This is perfect! With a tutoring relationship, I'll be able to study her and figure out what kind of a move I need to make_, he thought to himself. From his father's notes, he knew that the vampire they were seeking was only a little over a hundred, which meant that she was relatively young, which meant that she would be a lot more reckless and unaware. So that meant that she had received help from an older vampire. Now all he had to do was find out what other vampire was there. "When should we start?" he questioned.

"How about tomorrow after school in the library?" Casey suggested.

"You mean here?" Truman asked. _I was right. She __**is**__ the vampire. And obviously not as bright as we were led to believe. After all, she's luring me to the school library so that she can kill me_, he thought to himself.

"Yes," Casey responded. _This way I know the lay of the land and have time to get some backup in case I need it_, she mused.

"Yeah, that sounds fine," Truman agreed. _Hmmm…she won't even know what hit her_, he thought to himself.

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow directly after school," Casey told him.

"Great. See you then," Truman grinned. Then, he walked off as Casey did the same. When Casey got home, she told Derek what happened.

"And you agreed?" he gasped in disbelief. _What, is she crazy?_ he wondered.

"Well, I'm not going alone. I thought you and Sam could be close by, you know, have my back?" Casey queried.

"Of course," Derek agreed. "I take it you'll call Sam?" he asked.

"Yep," Casey confirmed. Derek nodded. That was a solid plan. Casey went down to her room, pulled her cell phone from her jeans' pocket, and sat on her bed as she dialed her boyfriend's number. She only had to wait a few minute before he picked up.

"Yeah, what's up, Case?"

"I need your help with something." She then proceeded to tell him the same thing she had told Derek, including having the two in the library at the same time she and Truman were.

"And you want me and Derek as back up? What about Rose?"

"It'll still be day time. She won't be able to get there."

"I don't like this."

"Well, it's the only plan we've got. So can I count on you or what?"

"You know you can."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." They hung up and Casey immediately began doing her homework. When she was finally done, she put everything away, got into her pajamas, and went to bed. The next morning, she quickly got dressed, took out a blood bag, drank from it, wiped her mouth, got her things together, and then went upstairs where the others were eating breakfast.

"Do you want anything Casey?" George asked.

"No, I'm not really in the mood for people food this morning. Thanks anyway, George," Casey responded. When breakfast was finished, everyone continued about their morning, grabbing their things and putting them in their backpacks. Then, Casey and Derek headed for Derek's car while George ushered Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti into his sedan. When Casey and Derek got to school, Sam, Emily, and Kendra met up with them at their lockers.

"So, are you totally set on this?" Sam asked. "I mean, I don't really like the fact that you're going in alone. I mean, Derek and I have no clue how to fight," he continued.

"What are you talking about?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, who's fighting who?" Kendra added and Sam quickly explained what was going on.

"Count us in," the girls chorused.

"No, it's dangerous enough that I'm including Sam and Derek," Casey objected.

"Casey, you're not going to win this one," Emily told her friend, giving her a determined look. Casey nodded. She got the feeling that Emily was right.

"Okay, then. Be in the library directly after school. That's when I'll be "tutoring" this guy," she told them.

"And what a lesson it'll be," her boyfriend stated grimly. She flashed him a small smile and they went to their homeroom before the warning bell could ring. In the homeroom, Casey doodled in her notebook, ignoring everyone else until Derek leaned over to her.

"You all right?" he asked.

"Yep,' she replied. Hearing the door opening, they turned to see Ralph walking in. "I guess he's feeling better."

"I guess so." When the homeroom was finally done, she gathered up her things and headed for her next class. As she did so, she kept a subtle eye out for Truman. She wanted to be ready in case he decided to launch an attack before that night. However, he made no moves, instead just going about his day, merely going to his classes. Casey could hardly wait until the school day was over. She wanted to take care of Truman **now**! She didn't need some hunter after her or Rose. _ Man! Why can't things just ever stay simple?_ she wondered, running her fingers through her hair. She liked it when she could just pretend to be normal…especially when graduation was so close. As soon as she graduated, she would no longer have to pretend and would be able to leave with her family and friends. _I can't wait until I'm able to leave_, she thought. But then, what about Sam? What did she want to do about their relationship? Should she turn him and invite him along or compel him to forget about the relationship? _Maybe I should talk to Rose about this_, she mused. Surely **she**'**d** be able to give her some advice on this. The problem stuck in Casey's mind the rest of the day, but she did her best to focus on her classes. However, she was certain that her teachers had noticed her inattentiveness, though they were kind enough not to comment on it. However, her friends were a different story.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Kendra questioned at lunch.

"Yeah, I'm all right," Casey replied. "I just want to get this thing with Truman over with," she continued as Ralph joined them.

"What? What's going on with Truman? Has he been bothering you? Can I help?" Ralph queried as he sat down. His eyes blazed. If he had been bothering Casey, he'd certainly help Derek and Sam take care of him.

"No, we've got it handled, but thanks for looking like you're willing to become my knight in shining armor," Casey told him, hiding a smile. Then, "I'm glad to see that you're feeling better."

"Thanks. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually glad to be back in school." They all chuckled. When they had finished lunch, they cleaned up their trays, put their trash in the cans and then headed for their classes, where Casey once again forced herself to pay attention. She was all charged up, running the different scenarios in her head. _Okay, calm down, Casey! Don't psyche yourself out_, she thought to herself. If there were any hunters, she and the others could take care of them. For her, the day seemed to drag on, but finally it was done. As soon as the last bell rang, she gathered up her books and headed for the library, Derek, Sam, Emily, and Kendra promptly following her.

"We'll be in the stacks," Kendra told her and they went to different aisles, ducking inside. Casey didn't have to wait long until Truman came into view. Casey waved to him and he joined her at a table.

"Okay, let's get started," Casey stated, opening her history book.

"So, you want to start with history, huh?" Truman queried.

"Yeah, I'm a semi-history buff," Casey lied. If this guy wasn't a hunter, she didn't want to tip him off. Truman's eyes narrowed. History buff? That was a lame excuse. In the stacks, Kendra, Emily, Sam, and Derek peeked out from their positions. Did she need help? So far, it didn't sound like it, but none of them wanted to leave Casey unprotected. Truman shifted in his seat, his hand reaching into his coat pocket. Maybe it was time that he played out his theory. Subtly, his fingers tightened around the vial he had placed in his pocket. "So, let's get started on tonight's assignment and then maybe we can see if you need to catch up on anything," she suggested, turning towards him.

"That sounds good to me," he agreed. He then brought the vial out.

"What's that?" she asked, seeing the clear liquid. _Is that filled with vervain?_ she wondered.

"Oh, just some new cologne my dad got me," Truman replied, unscrewing the vial. He tilted it as if to pour it on his wrist, but then swung it towards Casey and the liquid fell on her hands. The girl yelped in pained surprise as her flesh sizzled. Hearing the cry, Derek, Emily, Sam, and Kendra came from their hiding places.

"Girls, you can stay back, let us handle this," Truman responded. He had barely gotten the sentence out when he suddenly found himself flying back. _Wha-_he wondered. To his surprise, they all surrounded Casey. _What in the-oh, right. I forgot. They've been compelled_, he reminded himself. But that didn't make sense though. Sam and Emily had vervain. They at least should've been in control of their faculties.

"You don't understand!" Truman exclaimed as Derek and Emily ran to Truman and hauled him to his feet as Kendra and Sam ran to Casey.

"Oh, we understand just fine. You're a hunter who's after our best friend," Emily answered.

"You okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, it just hit my skin. And it wasn't that much," Casey replied. Truman broke free of Emily and Derek's grasp and then tackled Casey, pulling a stake from a hidden pocket in his jacket. With a growl, Casey flipped the boy over her shoulders, causing him to drop his weapon. He jumped to his feet and threw a kick at Casey, who quickly blocked it. Kendra stared at Truman, her eyes narrowing in anger. Who did this **boy** think he was? Casey had never hurt anyone. **He** was the threat, not **her**. As he threw some more kicks and punches, Truman bent down and grabbed the stake. Then-he let out a cry of pain and grabbed his head, giving Casey a chance to grab him by the throat.

"Rose teaching you some new tricks, Kend?" Casey asked.

"Yeah, she said it might come in handy some day," Kendra replied. Truman gasped when the pressure subsided.

"You don't understand! She's a vampire that has you all compelled! You have to let me help you," Truman declared.

"Compelled? We all have vervain in our system," Sam stated. _What an idiot_, he thought to himself.

"And you're helping this abomination?" Truman gasped. _What? Why?_ he wondered. Then, it hit him. She had probably threatened people they cared about. "Look, I can save whoever she's threatening-" his sentence ended in a groan as Kendra stared at him again.

"Easy Kend. We don't wanna draw unwanted attention by killing him," Casey cautioned.

"Of course," Kendra agreed. Casey looked at him.

"How many of you are here?" she asked. Truman grunted and tried to break free, but the vampire's grip was too strong. "How many of you are here?"

"Forget it."

"Wrong answer." Casey bit into her wrist, tearing the flesh and letting blood flow. Then she put her wrist in front of Truman's lips.

"Casey!" everyone cried.

"He tried to kill me. Why shouldn't I do the same to him? Feed him my blood, kill him, let him get hunted…" Casey's voice trailed off. She was so sick of this kind of crap. "Maybe then he'll tell us how many hunters are here," she continued with a smirk. She pressed her wrist to his lips and he let out a strangled and frightened moan. For a moment, guilt coursed through her, but she pushed it down. She wasn't **actually** going to turn him, but she could still put a good scare into him. All she had to do was let a little bit of her Ripper persona out. "Aw, what's the matter, Truman? Are you afraid?" she mocked, letting out a laugh. "You will be…if you don't tell me what I wanna know…"

"Casey, stop!" Sam shouted, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. What was she doing? She hadn't said anything about this. Casey's eyes darkened and she let out a warning growl. Another wave of guilt hit her, but she once more pushed it down. She needed to focus. She once more pressed her wrist to his lips and this time, some of the blood entered his mouth. He let out a frightened moan. "Aw…are you ready?" He nodded frantically.

"So, how many hunters are here?" she asked, pulling her wrist back slightly.

"It's just me and my dad! It's just me and my dad!" the boy shouted frantically. "You were supposed to be my first kill!" Casey burst out laughing.

"He sent a rookie after **me**? The Ripper?" she asked. _What a foolish man! You don't send novices after an experienced killer!_ she thought to herself. "Go to your father, tell him you failed, and that you guys should hightail it," she continued, throwing him to the ground. Then, she looked at her friends. "Let's go," she said. Then, she walked out of the library, and after a moment, her friends followed her out. For a moment, Truman stayed where he was, panting. Then, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number. When his father finally, picked up, Truman quickly began talking.

"I failed. She one-upped me," he said.

"Are you serious?" Ronald demanded.

"You didn't tell me she was the Ripper dad! Were you **trying** to get me killed?" Truman shouted. "Let's just…get out of here! I'm not gonna get killed by a psychopath!" He then hung up and headed out. That was it! He was done with this particular hunt. He gathered up his things and headed out of Sir John Sparrow Thompson High, vowing to never return.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

End of ep, next up: Futuritis


	39. Futuritis Part 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Yeah, totally, right? Well, you'll have to read on and see what I put in. Thank you. Yes, I know, but I'm starting to lose my flow for the fic and I don't wanna drag it out too much. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

This is a major jump and I'm starting Futuritis. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot and characters you don't recognize.

Casey's eyes sparkled as all around her, students talked. She could feel the excitement buzzing around her. While the excitement made her peers' blood more potent, right now, it just exhilarated her. _Everyone's all excited and I can't blame them. It's certainly a great rite of passage…one that I've been through many times_, she mused to herself. Presently, Emily, Sam, Kendra, Ralph, and Derek walked up to her.

"Hey guys," Casey greeted.

"Hey, Casey," the others acknowledged.

"So, is it crazy that I'm excited to be graduating?" Kendra queried.

"Of course not! We're finally getting out of this place!" Derek exclaimed and everyone laughed, shaking their heads. _Typical Derek_, Casey fondly thought to herself.

"Yeah, I'm pretty excited too," Casey agreed. Then the warning bell rang and they all went to their homeroom, where Casey began doodling in a notebook. _I can't believe I'll be leaving soon. I hope Stefan and Damon can come. It's never any fun when they can't_, she thought to herself. Then there was Sam. What was she going to do about him? _Should I turn him or do something that makes him forget that we ever dated?_ she wondered. Well, she could **definitely** see herself living with Sam for the rest of their lives, but could he see the same thing? Casey let out a non-existent breath. There was so much to think about. _I wish Katerina or one of the others were here. I don't know what to do_, she thought to herself. This was bigger than the decision she had had to make about whether or not to tell Sam what she was. She knew how she felt about Sam and she could smell true love on her boyfriend, but would it be fair to him to turn him? What if even though he truly loved her, he didn't want to be with her forever? What was she supposed to do? Before she knew it, homeroom was over and they were on their way to their next classes. The rest of the day dragged on for Casey, something that didn't go unnoticed by her friends.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kendra asked at lunch.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Casey assured. "I just have a lot to think about," she continued.

"What's there to think about? We graduate and then we party!" Ralph cheered.

"Ralph, you won't miss this place even just a little bit?" Emily queried.

"Not even a bit," Ralph scoffed.

"Yeah, it's not gonna be that big of a deal," Derek agreed.

"Right. This from the guy who called me in a panic," Sam drawled.

"I was **not** panicked!" Derek protested amidst his friends' laughter.

"Face it, Bro, you just got owned," Casey teased. Derek just rolled his eyes. _Sheesh, razz on a guy why don't ya?_ he thought to himself. Then, he glanced at Casey who grinned at him knowingly. He shrugged. Okay, so he **had** panicked, but who could blame him? High school was one thing, but college would be quite another. What was he going to do once he graduated? He wasn't going to be the big man on campus and he wasn't sure how he was going to be able to handle that. He let out a soft sigh. He wished he knew what to do. Sam stared at his best friend. What was he thinking? Whatever it was, he knew it had to be pretty big. Then, he turned his thoughts to his own inner turmoil. What was he going to do after graduation? College, maybe? He wanted to do that, but what about Casey? He loved her so much. _I wanna be with her for the rest of my life, but I don't know how she feels about turning people…and besides, she got kinda scary when she was dealing with Truman_, he mused to himself. His eyes clouded. Yeah, he could understand **why** she been like that, but did he really want to risk seeing that side of her over and over again? _But that's what love's all about-accepting the good and bad parts of a person_, he mused again. He nodded to himself. Once he had a chance to talk to her alone, he'd ask her about turning him. Meanwhile, Ralph was in his own little world. _Once I graduate, I can just do whatever I want! No one will be able to stop me!_ he thought to himself. Seeing the boy's glazed look, Emily shook her head. Sometimes, she wondered what he thought about. Her thoughts turned to graduation. _I can't wait! It's quite an accomplishment_, she thought. She hoped everything went well. She just wanted to have one night that wasn't full of supernatural drama, and she was sure Casey wanted that too. Kendra smirked as she shook her head. _Wow. Who would've thought at the beginning of freshman year that we'd all be friends like this?_ she wondered. Back in her freshman year, she had been too snobby to even look at someone like Casey or Emily. _Boy would I have missed out_, Kendra thought to herself. When they had all finally finished their lunches, they stood up, gathered up their belongings and trays, threw away their garbage, and then went off to their next classes. What they didn't know was that a van was heading for Ontario.

"Oh, I can't **wait** to see Casey again!" Anna squealed.

"Anna, remember your upbringing!" Pearl scolded.

"Oh for Pete's sake, mother, aren't you excited to see her again? And this time it's for good," Anna reminded.

"Yeah, I'm excited about it too," Lexie added. Pearl rolled her eyes but said nothing. Katherine, Stefan, and Damon shared a smirk. They couldn't believe Anna was acting this way, not that they could really blame her. They couldn't wait to see Casey either. And now they'd all be together again for good.

"Can't you speed up a little?" Katherine requested. Damon did as he was bid and everyone yelled in excitement. For the rest of the drive, the vampires continued to talk and tease one another. Back at Sir John Sparrow Thompson High, Casey, Derek, Kendra, Sam, Emily, and Ralph went to their own classes. In her class, Casey's mind wandered as she made a list of what she wanted to do in preparation for graduation. Her eyes clouded. She still wasn't sure of what she wanted to do about Sam. _I wish Katerina were here_, she thought to herself again. She **seriously** needed some advice. Maybe she should give the girl a call. She let out a non-existent breath and continued writing. When the day was finally over, they all headed for the exit.

"Casey, could I talk to you?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, sure," Casey responded, slowing down. She turned to face him. _I wonder what's going on_, she thought. Sam inhaled and exhaled sharply and Casey could smell the quickened pulse of her boyfriend and her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Why are you so nervous?" she asked.

"You can smell it?"

"Your pulse is racing."

"Ah." _It makes sense that she'd be able to smell it_, he thought to himself as he rubbed his hands on his jeans. "Case…what do you plan to do after grad?" Casey froze.

"What do you mean?" she asked. _Is he asking what I think he's asking?_ she mused

"I mean, where do you see us…I mean, years from now?" he wondered.

"What?" she asked again.

"I mean, can you see forever with us, or…?" his question trailed off.

"Sam…are you asking me what I think you're asking me?" Casey questioned. He took her hand and squeezed it gently.

"Case…I love you…you know this, you've smelled it on me…" Sam started to say.

"This is true," Casey interjected.

"Case, I don't know what you're feeling for me-other than liking me-I mean-"

"Sam please just spit it out."

"I want you to change me."


	40. Futuritis Part 2

SHOUT OUT/ANSWERS

Madame Degrassi19820: Thanks, here's more.

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: No, it actually hasn't even crossed his mind. He's more of in a "What do I do now" and "college is approaching" mindset. Sam asked after school while kids are going to their cars, though he's made sure that they're in a secluded corner. Rose is still in town and will be shown in the next chapter. Thank you. Here's more.

Ilovezim123; Thank you. I'm glad you like it.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belong to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot.

"What?" Casey asked again. Had she really heard right?

"I want to be turned…after graduation…I want us to be together forever," Sam repeated.

"Oh, Sam…are you sure?" she asked. "I mean, eventually your parents and relatives will all die, as you never grow older, and you won't be able to tell them about you," she reminded him. _It's not a life I would've wished for anyone else_, she thought to herself. Sam nodded. He understood that. _I get what she's saying and I know it'd be hard to see everyone we love and care about get old and die, but I wanna be with her forever_, he mused.

"I get it," he told her. "All I want is you," he continued, taking her into his arms. If she could've, Casey would've blushed. In all her one-hundred forty-two years, she had never been treated the way Sam treated her. It was kind of nice. And to think, she'd have a chance to be treated like this for the rest of her life…how could she say no?

"Okay. If this is what you really want."

"I do."

"So, after graduation, I'll change you. You'll have to take your wrist-cuff off and if you have any food or drink that has vervain in it, you'll have to stay away from it," she said.

"You got it," he agreed. _Yes! She agreed!_ he thought happily. What he said was true. All he wanted was Casey. He wanted to be with her forever. He couldn't imagine being with anybody else. Then, he headed for his car and Casey went over to Derek's car and got in.

"What was that all about?" Derek wondered.

"You should talk to Sam," Casey replied. She wasn't sure how Sam wanted to tell Derek or if he was even going to tell Derek, and she didn't want to cause problems between them. Derek looked at in curiosity. _Why won't she tell me? Is it that bad?_ he wondered. However, he let the question slide and just guided the car down the street and towards their home. When they got home, Casey went to her bedroom and started packing. She knew that the others wanted to leave right after graduation, so she figured that it'd be better to have everything ready to go. Yeah, grad was in a couple of days, but she wanted to be prepared to leave in a moment's notice just in case there was trouble. Then, her mind went back to the conversation she had had with Sam. _I can't believe he actually wants to be turned. I'll be able to be with my boyfriend for the rest of my life_, she thought to herself. It'd be a great thing-to have the boy she loved by her side for all eternity…it was a dream come true. With a smile, she continued packing. Presently, Nora came in.

"Hey Casey. How's it coming?" she questioned.

"Pretty good. Got almost everything ready. And I'm feeling pretty excited about graduation-even though I've gone through it plenty of times," came the response. Nora chuckled.

"Yes, I bet you have," she agreed. "So, uh, what do you and Sam plan to do after graduation?" she asked casually.

"He asked to be turned," Casey replied.

"Really?" Nora asked in surprise. _I hadn't expected that_, she thought.

"Yeah," she answered. She let out a small laugh. "I can't believe it. He really wants to be with me forever," she stated.

"I can believe it," Nora told her. "Casey, I've seen the way he looks at you, and honestly, I'm surprised that he didn't ask you sooner," she told her. Casey smiled. Nora always did know how to put things into perspective.

"Yeah, I know," she said.

"You'd have to fake his death, right?"

"Yeah. Maybe a car crash, burned beyond all recognition." Nora raised her eyebrow.

"Come up with these kinds of scenarios often?"

"It's come up before, yes."

"Do you need any help?"

"No thanks." Nora smiled at the girl and then walked out of the room. Casey took things down from the shelves, choosing different things to pack into different boxes. She blew out a breath as she looked at the different boxes. _I can't believe I accumulated so much stuff in four years_, she thought to herself. Damon was gonna kill her. Then, she shrugged and continued packing. He wouldn't actually kill her, but he wasn't going to be happy. However, he'd deal with it. _You know, this would go faster if I just blurred_, she mused to herself. Then, she flew through the room, packing everything she needed and a few seconds later, she was finished with everything. Then, she headed back upstairs.

"Are you done packing all ready?" George asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I decided to use my vampire powers," Casey replied.

"Oh," the man said. He wasn't sure why, but he hadn't expected that. Then she went to the kitchen, where she did a quick check to make sure she hadn't left any of her things there. When she saw that she hadn't, she nodded to herself. _Okay, everything' looking right_, she thought to herself. Now all she had to do was wait for her brothers and their friends to get here and graduate. After graduation, she could leave. It'd be great…especially since she wouldn't have to pretend to be something she wasn't anymore. She was tired of having to pretend to be human. She wanted to be normal again. And with the rest of her family there, she'd be able to do that. _It'll be nice to be normal again_, she thought to herself. Luckily, graduation was only about a day away. While Casey was pondering this, Derek was in his room, talking to Sam, who had just told him.

"Dude, you asked to be turned into a vampire?" he asked.

"Yeah, I love her. I wanna be with her forever."

"I get that, but wouldn't she like, have to fake your death, or something?"

"Yeah, I know, but-"

"And you're like-eighteen, while she's sixteen-in appearance, I mean-wouldn't have made more sense to get turned a couple of years ago?"

"She was still hiding here a couple of years ago."

"Yeah, I guess that would've made things difficult for her." Meanwhile, Damon and the others were getting closer and closer to Ontario.

"So, do you think she'll be excited about graduating?" Anna wondered.

"She always has been before," Pearl commented.

"True," Anna agreed. Then, she fell silent again as Damon continued driving. Hours later, they finally reached the city they had headed for. Damon parked the car in the parking lot of a hotel, and went in as the others grabbed their luggage.

"Hello, my name is Damon Salvatore and I made reservations for two rooms," he said

"Yes, of course," the hotel clerk said. Damon signed them in and got their rooms, and they all carried their belongings into the rooms.

"Mother, do you think this looks natural?" Anna questioned.

"Yes, Anna, it looks perfectly natural for this day and age," Pearl replied.

"And though you abhor it, Pearl, it helps our cover," Lexie reminded.

"Does it ever," Katherine smirked and then kissed Damon, causing Stefan to laugh. Those two were nuts. Then, he dug into his pocket, grabbed his cell phone, and dialed a number. He waited for a few minutes.

"Hello?" he heard a voice ask.

"Hey, Little Sis," he greeted in Italian.

"Stefan!" Casey exclaimed happily. "What's up?" she asked.

"We're in town and can't wait to see you graduate," he responded.

"I can't wait to graduate and-well, there's something I need to talk to you all about when we're together," she told him.

"What is it? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. It just affects all of us and needs to be done face-to-face."

"Okay. We have a hotel here in town and we'll be there soon."

"Great. Can't wait to see you." They hung up.

"So, what's going on, Little Brother?" Damon questioned.

"Well, Casey said she can't wait for graduation and that she has something she needs to talk to us about," Stefan replied.

"Did she say what?" Lexie asked.

"Nope. Just that it affected us all and that it was better to do it face-to-face," Stefan answered. Damon frowned.

"Sounds serious," he commented.

"I agree," the younger Salvatore agreed.

"You think it's anything bad?" Damon queried.

"No, if it was bad, she would've said so. But it **is** something serious," Stefan replied.

"Perhaps we should pay her a visit tonight-just to be on the safe side," Lexie suggested.

"Good idea," Katherine agreed. With that, they all got into the van and continued towards the MacDonald/Venturi house. When they finally got there, they noticed that the house's lights were off.

"They must've gone to bed," Damon commented.

"Yeah," the others said. From inside the house, Casey could hear the approaching vehicle and then the old familiar scents hit her nostrils. _Hey, they came early!_ she thought to herself and then quickly and silently moved through the house until she reached the front door, unlocked the door, and stepped outside. Seeing her, the vehicle stopped and everyone ran to her, enveloping her into a hug.

"What are you guys doing here? I thought the plan was for you guys to stay in a hotel and we'd meet up tomorrow at grad," Casey said.

"Well, you said we had something important to discuss so I figured it'd be best to get it over with," Stefan answered.

"You're right," Casey agreed.

"What's going on, Case?" Lexie questioned.

"It's Sam," Casey told them.

"What do you mean?" Katherine queried.

"He asked me to turn him," Casey revealed. The vampires all looked at each other.


	41. Futuritis Part 3

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Shinigami Of Nightmares (ch 39): Well, she'll be turning **some**body. I guess. Well, I'm glad you like it regardless.

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: That's addressed in this chapter. Yes, it is. Thank you. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Ilovezim123: Yes it is.

Madame Degrassi19820: Here's more. Thank you.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot.

"What?" the group asked.

"Yeah. I can hardly believe it," Casey told them.

"Casey, a declaration like that is wonderful," Katherine told her. And it really was. Romantic-wise, Stefan and Casey had been alone for pretty much their whole vampire lives, their separate stints as a Ripper notwithstanding. When Casey had gone Ripper, she had been with Elijah, and when Stefan had become the Ripper-well…no one was sure **what** had happened with him, other than him having a penchant for dismembering his victims and then putting them back together like a jigsaw puzzle. Katherine mentally shook her head and turned back to Casey.

"Yeah, it **is** nice, but I'll have to tell him everything about me-including my Ripper days. What if that changes the way he thinks about me?" Casey worried.

"He doesn't know?" Pearl asked in surprise.

"Well, he got a hint of it when I was battling Truman, but other than that…no…he doesn't know about my time with Elijah in the twenties," Casey replied and Stefan's eyes clouded. The twenties were for Casey what the sixties had been for him. He had gotten tired of playing nice and had just shut off everything…one could say that the sixties had been his version of teenage rebellion. Stefan let out a slight shudder, trying to shake off the memories. As if sensing this, Damon put a comforting hand on Stefan's shoulder. "What am I going to do? What if this changes his perception of me? That is not something I want to have happen," she continued.

"All right, first you're going to calm down," Damon interjected, hearing the agitation in her voice. "We all know that you tend to revert back to our old way of speaking when you're upset or agitated, so…just chill," he continued.

"Cassandra, Rose has told me about you and Sam, how much you two mean to one another. He doesn't strike me as the type to change his mind about you because of one little mistake you made," Katherine told her.

"One little mistake?" Casey repeated. "Katherine, I slaughtered dozens and hundreds of people. I slashed them to ribbons and drained them. This isn't like accidentally knocking a lamp off of a desk," she reminded.

"And in the sixties, Stefan treated his victims like jigsaw puzzles," Damon shot back.

"Really?" Stefan asked as Lexie smacked the older brother on the back of the head.

"Ow," Damon said, turning to glare at her. What had that been for? Then, he thought back to what he had just said and winced. "Sorry, little brother," he apologized and the younger boy gave him a curt nod, letting him know that he accepted.

"Cassandra, if you really love the boy, you need to tell him the truth-about every part of you. And if he really loves you, he'll accept it," Pearl stated. Casey nodded. She knew they were right. Her eyes clouded. She just wasn't sure what to do. Meanwhile, Sam and Derek were talking about the same exact thing.

"So you're really gonna ask her?"

"Yeah."

"And that's final?"

"It is." Derek let out a small scoff. He couldn't believe that he was going to lose his best friend. Well, sort of...he wasn't actually dying, but...everyone would think he was.

"Do you think it's a bad idea?" Sam questioned. Yeah, he knew what he wanted, but if Derek thought he was about to make a big mistake, he wanted to know. Derek blew out a sigh at the tone. What could he say? He knew this wasn't his decision to make, and yeah, he may have wondered what it'd be like to live forever, but he would hate it if he had to watch his family-especially Marti-grow up and die leaving him all alone.

"For me, it would be. If it was me and Kendra-if she was the vampire and I was the human-even with as much as I love her-I don't know if I'd be able to handle watching my family and everyone else that I love grow up and die." Sam fell silent. Derek brought up a good point. "Besides, man, I'd miss you."

"I'd miss you too."

"But…if this is something you really want…I say go for it."

"It's what I want. I love her man and I can't imagine my life without her." Derek looked at Sam, not saying anything. He really wanted this. He could tell. He had known Sam since they were kids and always knew when he was seriously passionate about something. And this was **definitely** one of those times. Derek blew out a breath.

"Then…you should go for it," he encouraged. _I'll miss him but I'd never want to stand in the way of his happiness_, he thought to himself.

"Thanks, man," Sam said.

"Yeah, sure," Derek replied. Sam grinned in relief. Derek's opinion was still pretty important to him, and to know that this was okay with him, it was good. While this was going on, Rose and Kendra were discussing upcoming graduation as well.

"So, what are we going to tell people? I mean, I don't really know if I can do a British accent," Kendra stated.

"Don't worry about that. I can do an American accent just as well as a British accent," Rose assured, her voice changing to match Kendra's. "But you're right. We **do** need to figure out what to tell people," she agreed.

"Why don't we just say that my parents died and you're my aunt and that you took me in?" Kendra suggested.

"Kendra, are you sure you want to go with that?" Rose asked gently. _I know she was hurt by her parents, but to say they're dead_, she thought to herself.

"Yeah. They disowned me so they might as well be dead," Kendra replied with a shrug. _Why should I care about them? They don't care about me, why should I care about them?_ she bitterly mused. Rose had become more like a mother to her than her own mother had been. It was only natural for her to say that Rose was taking care of her. Seeing that Kendra's mind was made up, Rose nodded.

"All right. I'll have the papers drawn up before we leave," she stated with a nod.

"Thank you," the younger girl said, flashing the vampire a smile.

"Of course," came the response. She looked at the girl and she could feel the maternal instincts kicking in. She couldn't believe that Kendra's parents had abandoned her like they had. _Those stupid humans. They have no idea what they're missing_, Rose thought to herself.

"I'm tired and grad's tomorrow, so I'm gonna go to bed," Kendra said.

"All right," Rose commented and the younger girl went to her room and went to bed. Rose's eyes clouded. She knew that the past year had been exhausting for Kendra, and really, who could blame her? She had found out that she had supernatural powers and then had been abandoned by the people who were supposed to support her. With an unnecessary sigh, began packing things in boxes. They'd all be leaving right after graduation and it was just easier to have everything packed beforehand. Back at the hotel, Casey was flipping through the t.v. channels, trying to distract herself. The only other person in the room was Stefan, as the others had decided to go out for a bit.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Little nervous," she replied

"About graduation?" She shook her head.

"Changing Sam. It's been a while since I've turned someone. What if it doesn't work out? What if he ends up crazed or regretting it, or-" her voice trailed off as Stefan put up his hands in a placating manner.

"Take it easy, Casey. Everything will be fine. **You**'**ll** be fine," he assured.

"You think so?" Stefan looked at his sister with sympathy. Even as a human she hadn't had much luck in the guy department. And the fact that her only serious relationship before this was with a vampire that had betrayed her, certainly didn't make things any easier. He stood in front of her, took the remote and turned off the television before

"Hey, listen…this isn't going to turn out bad. I promise. I mean, from everything you've said about Sam, and from what I've seen, you guys will be great together as vampires."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Casey smiled gratefully. Stefan always knew what to say to make her feel better. Damon did too, but sometimes, Stefan's sensitivity was needed more than Damon's bluntness. Stefan turned the television back on and a few minutes later, Damon, Lexie, Katherine, Anna, and Pearl walked in. Damon sat behind Casey and pulled her close, letting his hands rest on her shoulders before he started rubbing them comfortingly. He could feel the emotions coming off of her. She was nervous, not that he could blame her. For their group, turning someone wasn't a decision that was made lightly. He wasn't sure what to say, so he just did what he used to do when they were humans and she was nervous about something: he rubbed her shoulders. It was an action that had always calmed her down. Casey leaned into the actions, feeling herself become calm. Damon could always calm her down. Once she was sufficiently relaxed, everyone went to bed and Casey smiled. Tomorrow was going to be a great day…

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Next chapter will be the absolute last chapter of the fic.


	42. Futuritis Part 4

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Yep. Well, read on and see. For the time being, yes.

BigTimeGleekBTR: Thanks. Glad you liked it. Sorry it's not soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW.

If one were to walk into Sir John Sparrow Thompson High that evening, they would see kids getting into their caps and gowns, talking with their peers excitedly. To any parent who walked in, it would appear to be the same thing they gone through once: getting ready for graduation and trying not to let their nerves get the best of them. However, there was one student among them that didn't seem nervous at all: Casey MacDonald. In the ladies' room, she listened to Emily and Kendra chatting away and smiled. She couldn't blame them for being excited and nervous. For them, this was all fresh and new. But for her, it was old hat.

"I can't believe you and Rose are moving," Emily complained.

"Yeah, well, although there have been some good times, this place holds a lot of bad memories. It just doesn't feel like home anymore," Kendra replied. Casey flashed her friend a sympathetic smile.

"Where will you guys go?" the vampire wondered.

"She's still stuck between New York and Chicago," came the response and Casey chuckled.

"Her two most favorite places in the world," she commented. Emily and Kendra turned to their friend. "So, what about Derek?" she asked.

"We talked about it and we're going to try a long-distance relationship," came the answer.

"How are you not nervous by the way?" Emily wondered.

"You forget, I've done this plenty of times," Casey responded and the girls chuckled.

"Right. Of course," Emily said. _Wow. I can't believe that I forgot that Casey's a vampire_, she thought to herself. She was just so used to them all hanging out. The girls continued to get ready as Derek and Sam were talking in the men's room.

"So, it's a go?" Derek questioned.

"Yeah, I took my wrist cuff off last night and I left it off this morning. I'm not sure how long Casey needs to wait before the vervain's out of my system so that she'll be able to turn me," Sam replied in a tone only Derek could hear.

"I'm gonna miss you a lot, man," Derek admitted.

"Yeah, I'm gonna miss you too," Sam replied. "But honestly, I can't wait. It's gonna be good," he continued. "So, what about you and Kendra?" he wondered.

"We're going to try the long-distance thing. I think it'll be okay, I mean, who else can put up with me?"

"Well, that's true." They laughed. Hours later, everyone lined up for graduation. Casey grinned as she stared at her friends. _This is awesome! I'll get to leave soon!_ she thought to herself. It'd be nice to be able to be herself again. It'd be good. She couldn't wait to be graduated. She'd be able to be with her brothers again. It'd be good. Plus, she could tell that some of the neighbors had started to get suspicious of the fact that she **still** looked like she was fifteen. And as much as she loved this place, she had no desire to bring any trouble to her descendant. One-by-one, their names were called, the kids walked across the stage. In the audience, Stefan, Damon, Rose, Katherine, Lexie, Pearl, and Anna shared a knowing look. They could hear everything that was going on. They refocused their attention on the student. When Casey's name was finally called, she walked across the stage and no one's cheers and claps were louder than Stefan and Damon's. Casey laughed and waved to them. _This is great! I love that they're here!_ she thought to herself. However, she said nothing as Principal Lassiter continued to talk. Finally, everyone's names were called and the class was presented to the audience. Minutes later, the entire senior class was milling about. Damon wrapped Casey in a hug as Sam hung back.

"I'm so proud of you," he murmured, causing her to laugh.

"You say that every time I graduate," she teased.

"That's because I always am," he responded. He then looked to Sam. "So how about it, kid? Ready to join us?"

"She told you?"

"She tells us everything."

"Yeah, I'm ready to join you."

"Great."

"So, I was wondering, what's the cover story going to be?" Sam wondered in a soft tone.

"Car crash. I think that would be the simplest explanation," Casey answered.

"That makes sense," Sam responded. "Let me say goodbye."

"Of course." They watched as the boy walked over to his family.

"Hey," they heard his parents greet him as they gave him a hug.

"Hey guys," he answered.

"Congratulations, honey."

"Thanks, Mom." Sam's parents looked at him with some concern. He seemed to be pensive.

"Is everything all right honey?" Mrs. Richards asked.

"Yeah, Mom. Everything's fine. I guess it's just all sinking in," he replied and she nodded in understanding. She had felt the same way when she had graduated. "I love you guys. Thanks for supporting me and encouraging me when I wanted to give up." His parents glanced at each other and then hugged their son again. They weren't sure why he was being so pensive, but they wouldn't press it. Presently, Damon, Stefan, and Casey came up to them.

"Hello, Casey," Melody acknowledged.

"Hey Mrs. Richards," Casey said. "Um, listen, do you mind if Sam went with the three of us to get some ice cream? My parents said it was okay," she requested.

"Oh, honey. I don't know," Melody stated, looking at Stefan and Damon with uncertainty.

"I'm Damon Salvatore and this is my brother Stefan. We're friends of Nora's," Damon introduced himself and pointed to his brother. "We came here for Casey's graduation. Nora's known our whole lives. If you want, you can talk to her," he continued. Sam's parents looked at each other and seemed to have a silent conversation with one another.

"Go on. It's just ice cream, right?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Then go and have a good time." With that, they all walked out of the school and to the van Damon had been driving where Sam and Casey got in the backseat, not even bothering to put on their seatbelts.

"I noticed you're not wearing your wrist cuff."

"Nope. Didn't even wear it last night. How long does it take for the vervain to wear off?"

"You should be good." Casey leaned over and kissed Sam on the lips passionately. He moaned and arched back into the seat as he wrapped his hands around her, letting them roam.

"This is okay, right?" he asked in between kisses.

"Of course," she assured him. Stefan and Damon glanced at each other, sharing a smile. Their little sister had it bad. Sam began to moan lustfully. With her fangs, Casey tore into her wrist, causing blood to flow and Sam's eyes became transfixed. Her blood was…beautiful…he leaned forward and started drinking eagerly. Casey let out a bliss-filled sigh as Sam drank from her. She couldn't wait until he was a vampire and they'd be together forever.

"So, how do you want me to kill you, baby?" she queried. He let out another swallow and looked up at her.

"I can choose?" he questioned.

"Of course," she replied.

"Something quick please," he requested.

"I can snap your neck. It's quick and relatively painless," she told him.

"That works," he agreed. Casey leaned forward and kissed him passionately, as she placed her hands on his neck. Sam moaned in delight. Her hands felt so cool. As they kissed, Casey tightened her grip on Sam's neck and the deftly twisted it. Seeing this, Damon pulled out his cell phone and dialed Nora. After a few rings, the woman picked up.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Casey's turned Sam. We're going to say he was killed in a car accident. Would you mind telling his parents?" Damon requested.

"Of course," Nora responded. Damon then hung up and the woman sighed. _Oh, this is going to be hard_, she thought to herself. She'd have to lie to a mother and tell her that her son was dead, when in fact he wasn't. But the other woman had no idea that vampires even existed. She started to breathe shakily as if she had gotten bad news and walked up to Sam's parents.

"Nora, what is it? What's wrong?" Melody questioned. _Something happened to the kids. But what?_ she wondered as she instinctively leaned into her husband, Roger.

"That was-that was-" Nora started to say.

"Take a deep breath, Nora," Roger interjected gently and the woman did as she was told. "Now, start again. Tell us what happened." Nora took another shaky breath.

"The kids-there's been an accident…" Melody gasped and clutched Roger.

"No," she stated in a choked up voice. _Not Sam. Not my baby_, she thought to herself. This was supposed to be a night of happiness, not grief. This couldn't be happening.

"They-they-didn't-" Nora continued.

"Wh-where were they taken?" Roger asked, trying to control his own voice. _Be strong. Be strong for them_, he thought to himself. It was obvious that Nora was barely keeping it together and Melody was clutching him to keep from falling.

"I-I-I heard that they had a-a really hard time-identifying-" Nora cut herself off.

"They were that bad off?" Roger asked and she nodded.

"I-I-Casey," Nora said and started crying. Meanwhile, noticing the commotion, George and the rest of the MacDonald/Venturi clan walked up to them, giving the trio confused looks. In a quiet tone, Roger told them what had happened. _Now? They chose to do it now?_ Derek wondered as he gasped as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Back in the van, Casey went to the back of the van, where a small refrigerator was.

"Good thinking. When he wakes up, he's going to need blood," Damon approved as she opened the refrigerator. Casey took out a small pile of blood packets and then blurred back to Sam just as he awoke.

"Hey, baby. Got you some food," she stated, opening up one of the packets. She then handed it to him and he drank eagerly. "Easy, baby. First thing you've gotta learn is control," she told him. Then, she proceeded to teach him how to savor and make the blood last as Damon continued driving.

THE END


	43. Damon Comes Home

AOTYS DELETED SCENES

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Yes this story is complete and there won't be any other updates, these are just a few scenes that could've been in my story but weren't. Unlike most deleted scenes, I actually came up with these long after the story was finished and the scenes are pretty short. Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW.

THE ROOM DELETED SCENE: DAMON COMES HOME

Her gaze zeroed in on one of the men in the back of the depiction. His face was slightly obscured, but she'd know him anywhere.

"Damon," she said fondly too softly for any of her classmates to hear. She caressed the photo lightly. Then, she grinned as a memory of him coming home in his uniform flashed before her eyes. _Stefan laughed as he chased Cassandra around the front yard of their plantation home. _

"_I am going to catch you, Cassandra," Stefan warned._

"_Oh, no you are not," Cassandra responded with her own laugh, quickening her_ _pace. _

"_This is what you do on a day Father has given you off?" a voice asked with a laugh, causing them to halt their actions and turn in the direction of the sound. Cassandra's eyes widened._

"_Damone!" she shrieked and then forgetting her upbringing, ran to him and tackled him, knocking him the_ _ground. Damon laughed as he hugged his younger sister tightly. _

"_I take it you missed me," he said in Italian._

"_Of course I did you big fool," she murmured in the same language. Then, she got off of him and helped him up as Stefan walked up to them._

"_Not that I am not glad to see you, but why are you here?" he queried in their native tongue._

"_I am on leave for a few days," came the response in the same tongue._

"_Well, welcome home, Brother," the younger boy said, still in Italiain. _ The girl smiled as the memory faded. _Oh, he had looked so handsome in that uniform_, Casey recalled.


	44. Casey Remembers Her Potrait Being Drawn

DISCLAIMER

LWD belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. VD belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW.

"Casey, what is it?" Emily asked. She turned back to her friend.

"Nothing. That's a really good picture," she answered. She smiled softly as that day came back.

_"Now Miss Salvatore, just sit quietly as I finish this up," the painter-Monsieur DeBorche-said in a heavy French accent._

_ "Oui, Monsieur. As you wish," Cassandra replied. __I cannot believe Father is making me do this. I hate having my portrait drawn__, she thought to herself. Nevertheless, she did as she was instructed and sat still as the man finished up his work, sporadically letting out exclamations of pleasure, causing Cassandra to smile and shake her head at the words. Along with their native Italian, Giuseppe had made all of his children learn French, Latin, and Greek. Not that there was much call for speaking Latin and Greek in Mystic Falls, but it was still rather nice being able to speak five different languages. "Voila! It is finished!" the man cried after a while_. Casey let out an inaudible laugh at the memory. Then, they went back to studying.


	45. Club Scenes

DISCLAIMER

LWD belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. VD belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. Inspired by the VD episode "The Rager".

Casey danced in between her brothers, who twirled her around. _Yeah! Now this is what I call a good time!_ she thought to herself. There was no way she could party like this with Sam or the others. It wasn't really their thing. Not that they didn't know how to have a good time, but she couldn't really cut loose with them. Presently, the crowd around them inched closer and the three siblings stared at one with secret smiles as two women came up behind Stefan and Damon, wrapping their arms around their waists.

"I'm Candice," the girl behind Damon introduced herself.

"And I'm Barbara," Stefan's partner added. Casey couldn't help the laugh that escaped her as she felt herself being pulled close to somebody.

"Hey, baby. I'm Michael and you look hot," a man whispered in her ear, resulting in another laugh. _Oh, this guy __**so**__ deserves what's about to happen_, she thought, hearing the leer in his voice.

"And you sound hot," she told him. She then turned around and let him put his hands on her waist as Stefan and Damon did the same with their dance partners. They danced in time to the music and after a little while, the vampires turned around. The man let out a grin when he saw his partner. _So nice and young. I can convince her to do anything I want_, he smugly thought. He wasn't sure how she had managed to sneak in but he certainly wasn't going to question it. As the man locked his gaze with her, Casey smiled. She could smell the desire on the man and had a pretty good idea of what he had in mind.

"You're going to like whatever I do. And you'll beg for more, not wanting me to stop," she intoned, letting her pupils dilate. Stefan and Damon shared secret smiles. Casey had him now.

"You're not going to make a sound. Nothing I do will hurt and you'll love it," Damon told Candice, letting his eyes widen as Power went out of him. She giggled and nodded.

"You're kind of young, aren't you?" Barbara questioned. _Geez. How come I always get the guys that I can't do anything with?_ she silently huffed.

"You won't care about that," Stefan answered quickly. "In fact, you'll like it and want it and you'll be okay with whatever I do," he continued, doing the same as his siblings and she nodded. Then, the three siblings leaned into their partners, pressing their bodies against them. They danced for a few more minutes and then Damon bit Candice's neck, being careful not to let a drop of blood drip down. Hey, just because it was a feeding frenzy, it didn't mean that he had to leave a mess. She laughed as the vampire repeated the action. _Wow! That bite didn't even hurt!_ she thought to herself. "Do it some more," the girl encouraged and Damon happily obliged. Barbara laughed as he grabbed her hand and kissed it several times. Then, he tore into the palm with his fangs being careful not to let the blood drip and she let out a moan. _Wow. This is really cool_, she thought to herself. While this was going on, Casey had pressed her upper body against Michael, letting his hands roam all around her as she let her hands do the same to his body.

"You like this?" she asked, letting her hands caress both sides of his neck.

"Yeah, baby. Do it some more," he responded in a dazed but lust-filled voice. Casey chuckled and obliged him, pulling the man's head down and closer to her. Then, she savagely tore into his neck, letting the blood flow down as she drank. Seeing this, Barbara and Candice gasped, but Stefan and Damon compelled them not to worry about it and just focus on them. Michael moaned in pleasure. That bite had felt **good**.

"Do it again, baby!" he urged and Casey happily obliged him. Then she pulled away and he tried to pull her back. "Don't stop! I love it! I want you to do it again!" he implored. Casey just grinned as she continued dancing with him, this time, letting her full body press against him.

"You want this baby? You want to feel me?" she teased, letting her fingers tease the back of his neck.

"Yes," he moaned eagerly. _Okay, time to put this guy down_, she thought to herself. Then, grabbed the man's head and she bit down again, letting more blood flow. The man moaned and fell to the ground.

"And now I'll go do some damage control," Casey stated.

"Allow us, Little Sister," Damon stated and then he turned Candice. "We were dancing when our sister's date attacked her. He bit her, claimed he was a vampire. He's insane," he said, letting his Power go out to her and she repeated what he had told her as Stefan gave the same story to Barbara. Damon pulled Michael up and stared at him, holding him steady.

"You were dancing with my sister and then you bit her. You think you're a vampire," he said, and the man repeated what he had been told. Stefan bit Casey on the left side of her neck, drawing blood. "Bite her where my brother just did," Damon instructed and the man did as he was told. Then the boys turned to their dates.

"When we tell you to, we want you to scream and call for help and then tell everyone what my brother and I told you: that we were dancing and my sister's date attacked and bit her, claiming to be a vampire. He's insane," Damon said to Candice and Barbara and both girls nodded as Stefan fed Michael his blood, allowing him to heal.

"Get ready to play victim," Stefan told his sister who nodded as he bit her again to make the wound fresher. Then, the Salvatore boys turned to their dates.

"Scream," they chorused as Casey held her neck as if to stop the blood while in reality, she was hiding the fact that the bite was fading. The screams gathered the attention of the other clubbers and Candice and Barbara quickly told them the story that they had been given which was quickly told to the owners who called the cops and within minutes they were there.

"This the guy?" the officer asked, seeing Michael.

"Yeah, we were just dancing and then suddenly he went crazy and bit her. He thinks he's a vampire! He's insane!" Candice exclaimed.

"He's really dangerous. You need to take him in," Stefan told the officer, staring him in the eyes. The officer nodded and read the man his rights and then led him off.

"We are good!" Casey cheered, slapping five with her brothers. Stefan and Damon turned to Candice and Barbara.

"You're not going to remember what just happened. We've been dancing this whole time and we've had a blast," Damon told Candice and Stefan told Barbara the same thing.

"So, you guys aren't getting winded on us, are you?" Barbara asked.

"No way," Damon responded and they all resumed dancing.

After several minutes, Candice and Barbara were sent on their way with only the memory of dancing with a couple of good-looking guys.

"So, how long are you guys here for anyways?" Casey wondered as the three started dancing together.

"Unfortunately, not very long. We still have to be careful," Damon replied and Casey sighed in disappointment.

"Okay," she said. _This bites_, she thought to herself.

"Hey, we hate it too," Stefan told her.

"So, when do you leave?" Casey asked.

"Probably early in the morning," Damon responded and the girl made a face. "But…in the meantime…we rock and roll," he added. His younger siblings laughed and their merriment continued. Presently some more people approached them and the vampires compelled three more people to dance with them and to like it when they were bitten. Casey laughed as she drank from her dance partner. Life was good….


End file.
